A behavioral therapist in Southern California was sentenced to 17 years in prison for molesting a young non-verbal girl with disabilities who was under his care.
Mitchell Akira Takata, 23, of Los Altos, had pleaded guilty to the crimes in October, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
In May 2024, Riverside police began investigating reports of sexual abuse involving a child who authorities described as “severely handicapped and non-verbal.”
The reporting party told police that during a therapy session, the girl had been sexually abused by Takata, who was her behavioral therapist.
Officers arrived at the girl’s home where, following an investigation, Takata was taken into custody. He was held at the Robert Presley Detention Center on $1 million bail.
Takata had been working as a behavioral therapist for around three years at the time of his arrest and he primarily worked with disabled children, prosecutors said.
In June 2024, he was charged with the crimes and in October 2025, he pleaded guilty to one count of an attempt to commit rape and one count of lewd and lascivious acts of a child under 14 years of age.
On Dec. 15, he was sentenced to 17 years in prison. At the time, investigators were also searching for more possible victims.
Anyone with additional information on the case can call Detective Daniel Suarez at 951-353-7120 or email [email protected].
