18-year old Joseph Hayden Boston was brought to the Riverside Police by his mother after she learned that he had molested two boys, ages 8 and 4, at a motel. During his interview with the police, Boston admitted to molesting “upwards of 50 children” since he was 10 years old. Boston has currently been arrested for two counts of oral copulation on a minor and is being held in lieu of $1 million bail. The police are currently trying to find out if there are any other victims. Boston only moved to Riverside in 2017 and previously resided in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Click here for more information about the case.
Despite Boston’s admission that he has molested many other children, he cannot be prosecuted for those crimes unless there is some evidence that a child was actually molested. A person cannot be convicted of a crime based on their statements alone. This is known as the corpus delicti rule. However, he can be facing life imprisonment for the two victims he did allegedly molest. Oral copulation of a minor is a violation of Penal Code section 288a. If the victims were under the age of 14 and more than 10 years younger than the suspect, then it’s a violation of Penal Code section 288a(c)(1) and faces a punishment of up to 8 years in prison. However, the DA’s office can add an enhancement for multiple victims in a sex case, pursuant to Penal Code section 667.61(e)(4), which would make the punishment 15 years to life. When an individual is facing life in prison, the court will usually require bail of at least $1 million.