MORENO VALLEY, Calif., April 5 (UPI) -- A Southern California school board member, previously charged with attempted murder, has been arrested on prostitution charges.
Mike Rios, who was elected to the board of the Moreno Valley United School District in 2010 and was charged in a February 2012 nightclub incident in which he allegedly shot at two people, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of rape and running a pimping operation.
John Hall, spokesman for the Riverside County District Attorney, said Rios was charged with 11 felonies, including rape, pimping and six counts of pandering. He is accused of persuading or encouraging four women and two underage girls to work for him as prostitutes.
Hall said Rios used his position as school board member to recruit potential prostitutes, and posted an advertisement on the Internet, but did not meet any of the women through his school board duties.
Although a member of the school board described Rios' arrest as "an embarrassment", the Board has no immediate legal options to remove him. State law requires removal after a felony conviction or if a board member does not attend meetings for three months, the Riverside (Calif.) Press-Enterprise reported Thursday.
Rios was jailed Wednesday, with bail set at $500,000, the newspaper said.
