FAYETTEVILLE -- A Springdale man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a laundry list of 17 sex offenses, most involving children, in Washington County Circuit Court.
Julian Gamboa Rivera, 20, was arraigned on four counts of second-degree sexual assault, one count of possessing child pornography, two counts of engaging children in sexual conduct for the purposes of visual or print media and nine counts of sexual indecency with a child.
Rivera was given a July 8 trial date.
Police said earlier this month they had found more than 30 potential victims after Rivera was accused of trying to abduct a 13-year-old girl.
Rivera was arrested Feb. 25, a day after the girl told police she'd been grabbed by a man who followed her after she got off the school bus. The man tried to drag her into an alley, put her in a headlock and touched her between her legs on top of her clothing, according to police.
The girl was able to escape and later identified Rivera to police in a photo lineup.
Police said they were able to connect other reports to Rivera by going door-to-door in some Springdale neighborhoods, piecing together each case and finding victims.
The cases involved young girls who were followed, inappropriately touched or were exposed to a man's genitalia, according to a preliminary arrest report. The children involved were 4 to 13 years old.
Some cases were previously unreported and no suspect had been identified in others, police said.
Riviera was a "textbook predator," according to a social media post by Springdale police. Police also said Rivera seemed to be escalating his actions before he was arrested.
Riviera also faces unrelated misdemeanor charges of driving while intoxicated, minor in possession of alcohol, driving the wrong way on a one-way street and reckless driving in Fayetteville.
Rivera was being held Wednesday in the Washington County jail in lieu of $150,000 bond.
NW News on 04/23/2015