A former behavioral therapist has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a young disabled girl during a therapy session in Riverside and will be sentenced in December, prosecutors said.
Mitchell Akira Takata, 22, of Los Altos, admitted to lewd acts on a child and attempted sodomy of a minor under 10, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. Under a plea agreement, prosecutors dropped an additional attempted rape charge.
The plea was entered Friday, just as Takata’s preliminary hearing was set to begin at the Riverside Hall of Justice. Superior Court Judge Juan Dominguez scheduled sentencing for December 15 at the downtown courthouse. The potential prison term has not yet been disclosed.
Takata, who had been out on bond, was remanded into custody immediately after his plea and is now being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail.
According to the Riverside Police Department, detectives from the Sexual Assault-Child Abuse Unit opened the investigation in May 2024 after reports surfaced that Takata had sexually assaulted a severely handicapped and non-verbal girl during an in-home therapy session in the Ramona neighborhood.
Police said investigators gathered enough evidence to arrest Takata on the same day of the reported assault — while he was still working.
Authorities initially feared that other disabled children might have been victimized, as Takata had worked as a behavioral therapist for about three years. However, no additional victims have come forward, police said.
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