LAKE ELSINORE, CA — A 36-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting a Lake Elsinore girl over a nearly six-year span must stand trial on multiple felony charges, a judge ruled Thursday.
Martin Ancamil of Lake Elsinore was arrested last year following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation.
At the end of a preliminary hearing Thursday, Superior Court Judge Timothy Freer found there was sufficient evidence to bound Ancamil over for trial on three counts each of forcible lewd acts on a minor and sexual penetration by fear, along with one count of forced oral copulation of a child.
Freer dismissed four lewd acts charges and scheduled a post- preliminary hearing arraignment for Aug. 8 at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.
The defendant is being held in lieu of $5 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Jeff Reese, deputies were alerted in June 2023 to a possible “sexual assault on a minor,” prompting an investigation at a residence on Cambern Avenue.
Court records allege a series of assaults, beginning in November 2017 and continuing until June 2023.
The victim, identified only by the initials “M.L.,” allegedly endured different forms of abuse, from groping to rape, according to court documents.
The circumstances behind the alleged acts and Ancamil’s specific connection to the victim were not disclosed. It was further unclear why the alleged offenses weren’t reported earlier.
Detectives obtained sufficient evidence to procure a warrant for Ancamil’s arrest, and he was taken into custody without incident on July 10, 2023.
He has no documented prior felony or misdemeanor convictions in Riverside County.
