A 36-year-old convicted robber pleaded guilty Wednesday and was immediately sentenced to time served in jail for grabbing a girl at a Yorba Linda park.
Marvin Alexander Rivera-Benitez pleaded guilty to a felony count of kidnapping a child younger than 14 for grabbing the arm of one girl, who kicked him and ran away as passersby and parents detained him until sheriff’s deputies arrived at Veterans Park, according to Orange County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Gerard McCann.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Larry Yellin struck prior convictions for the defendant in the case and sentenced him to 364 days in jail, but he had credit for 648 days behind bars, according to court records.
Rivera-Benitez was placed on two years of formal probation.
Rivera-Benitez was charged in June 2025 with committing a lewd or lascivious act with a minor younger than 14 and five misdemeanor counts of child annoyance but those were dismissed Sept. 19, according to court records.
Rivera-Benitez pleaded guilty Feb. 10, 2023, to a felony count of robbery and a misdemeanor count of battery, according to court records.