Felony charges were filed Wednesday against an 18-year- old man accused of molesting two children in a Riverside motel room, and suspected of doing the same to dozens of other underage victims in various locations over the last eight years.
Joseph Hayden Boston, who's being held in lieu of $5 million bail, pleaded not guilty Wednesday afternoon to three counts of sexual acts with a child under 10 and two counts of lewd acts with a child, with two sentencing enhancement allegations for multiple victims. The multiple victims enhancements mean that Boston, who's due back in court on Dec. 15, could face life in prison if convicted on all counts.
Boston was turned in by his mother in the predawn hours of Dec. 2 after he allegedly confessed to sexually abusing two boys -- one 4 and the other 8 years old -- at the Simply Home Inn & Suites in the 9800 block of Magnolia Avenue.
Riverside police Officer Ryan Railsback alleged that the suspect "befriended" the victims, who were staying at the motel with their parents, and took them to his room under false pretenses. After molesting the boys, Boston "called his mother, stating what he had just done," Railsback alleged.
Boston also admitted "to molesting upwards of 50 children since he was 10 years old in different cities where he had lived," Railsback alleged. "The suspect has been staying in Riverside since early November, but also resided in the cities of Lakewood and Buena Park in Southern California."
Charges filed against him in Riverside County only apply to the two alleged victims from Dec. 1, both identified as John Does in the criminal complaint.
Detectives from the RPD's Sexual Assault and Child Abuse unit are in communication with Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators regarding the possible molestation of children in Lakewood, as well as police in Buena Park in Orange County for the same reason. However, neither agency had identified any alleged victims, and no charges were imminent in the other jurisdictions.
