Riverside County shaman arrested for sexually assaulting children

A man who deputies say is the shaman of a religious sect in Riverside County has been arrested for sexually assaulting several children, according to a statement. 

Ricardo Isaac Flores, 59, of Rialto was arrested and booked on suspicion of forcible rape, aggravated sexual assault of a child, lewd acts on a minor and other sex crimes involving children, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Office. 

The investigation began when "multiple victims" appeared at the sheriff's station in Moreno Valley to report that they had been assaulted "by the same individual at a residence in the 26000 block of Sandi Lane," the statement said. 

Detectives were able to determine that the assaults were not limited to just that property but rather occurred at locations throughout Riverside County, as the suspect is "religious leader of a shamanistic community at various locations throughout the county," they said. 

It's not clear how many victims came forward, but deputies say that due to Flores' status and his access to them, they believe there could be more victims. 

They did not disclose exactly what religious sect Flores was the shaman of. 

He was arrested on Wednesday after they received a warrant for his arrest. He was taken into custody as he returned from a trip to Mexico, they said. 

On Friday, Flores was charged with rape two counts of lewd acts on a child and two counts of penetration of a minor under duress or fear, as well as one count each of penetration with a foreign object and aggravated sexual assault of a child. Additionally, sentence enhancing allegations of targeting multiple victims of a sex crime were filed. 

He remains jailed without bail in Banning, authorities noted.