Deveaux trial to move to El Centro
BRAWLEY — On Monday during a preliminary hearing, Imperial County Superior Court Judge Poli Flores here ordered the relocation of the trial of Diane Christina Deveaux to the Superior Courthouse in El Centro.
Her next scheduled court date was not set Monday.
Deveaux’s appearance in court Monday was brief in which the move to El Centro was announced.
Deveaux who remains in custody at the Imperial County Jail, is a 35-yearold Brawley woman who was arrested Feb. 13 for allegedly molesting two unidentified minors.
She was arrested at her residence earlier this year after investigators from the Imperial Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force discovered evidence of alleged child molestation during a search of her apartment.
During a Feb. 27 court hearing, the Imperial Valley Press reported that Deputy District Attorney Kevin Cayton submitted a motion to add sentencing enhancements to eight of the 15 felony child molestation charges against Deveaux.
During the Feb. 27 hearing, Deveaux entered a not guilty plea in response to the eight additional allegations that Cayton submitted, amending eight charges of committing a forcible lewd act on a child.
Those eight additional allegations seek enhanced sentencing terms for Deveaux if convicted. Aside from the eight charges of alleged lewd acts on a child, Deveaux also faces seven felony charges of oral penetration or oral copulation of a child under the age of 10.
She is also accused of broadcasting the alleged molestation, using a web cam, to Richard Alton Morgan, a 57-year-old Florida man who was also arrested Feb. 13 by Florida authorities for allegedly possessing child pornography.
Morgan, of Mascotte, Fla., was arrested by Lake County Sheriff’s Office detectives for allegedly possessing child pornography, alleged production of child pornography and lewd or lascivious molestation, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office press release.
The Imperial County District Attorney’s Office had previously stated that Deveaux’s and Morgan’s arrests were connected based on evidence collected during searches of their respective residences.
According to officials Morgan reportedly confessed to having downloaded child pornography for some time and was found in possession of an image of him molesting a young female, the LCSO press release stated.
Lake County sheriff’s detectives reportedly were able to identify the location of the female victim, and with the assistance of California law enforcement officials arrested the victim’s mother, Deveaux.