A judge is scheduled to decide Wednesday if two Palm Desert men who previously volunteered at schools within the Desert Sands Unified School District will stand trial for several alleged crimes involving children.
James McCall Anderson, 31, and Devin Daniel Lujan, 28, were both arrested in the summer of 2019 in the 74000 block of Scholar Lane in Palm Desert after deputies were tipped off to an allegation of child sexual abuse.
Anderson is charged with six felony charges relating to possessing, sending and distributing child pornography. Lujan is charged with two felony counts of lewd acts with a minor, two felony counts of oral copulation or sexual penetration with a child under 10 years old and one count of willful child cruelty.
Anderson is also charged with one misdemeanor count of endangering or abusing a child and two misdemeanor counts of committing immoral acts before a child -- which a criminal complaint describes as being “habitually drunk'' in the presence of at least one child in his care or custody.
Both defendants volunteered at George Washington Charter School in Palm Desert, Desert Sands Unified School District spokeswoman Mary Perry previously told The Desert Sun, and Lujan was also a teacher at the Bermuda Dunes Learning Center.
If convicted of all charges, Anderson could face a maximum of eight years in prison, while Lujan could face a life sentence, according to John Hall, spokesman for the Riverside Count District Attorney's Office.
At Wednesday's preliminary hearing, scheduled for 8:30 a.m. at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, a judge will decide if the prosecution has sufficient evidence to warrant a trial.
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Anderson remains out of custody on $30,000 bail, while Lujan is being held at the Blythe jail in lieu of $5 million bail.
