Counselor to Stand Trial on Sex Charges

A Moorpark man accused of having sex with an underage girl while he was director of a mentoring program for at-risk youth in the city will stand trial on the allegations.

Alberto Rios, the former director of Moorpark Project Pride, was ordered Monday to stand trial on charges of having sex with a 17-year-old volunteer tutor.

Rios faces three felony counts of oral copulation with a minor and one count of unlawful sexual intercourse stemming from two reported incidents that allegedly occurred last May, when Rios was 25.

Authorities have testified that the sex acts on both occasions were consensual and took place at the Moorpark Project Pride building at 280 Casey Road.

“The thing that is serious in this case is that Rios is in a position of power,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Adam Pearlman, who is prosecuting the case. “He was given power by the school district [in Moorpark] to supervise this program. . . . He took advantage of that position.”

The charges against Rios shocked many Moorpark residents, who had admired the young man’s efforts to help local children and teens through Project Pride’s tutoring, counseling and after-school activities.

Rios was arrested July 31 and released on bail the following day. In August, he resigned as director of Project Pride, and he pleaded not guilty to the charges during an arraignment in early September.

Rios could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

If Rios is convicted, his sentence could range from probation to a maximum of five years in state prison, Pearlman said.