An Inland Empire "shaman" accused of sexually assaulting several young girls pleaded not guilty Wednesday to nearly a dozen felony charges.

Ricardo Isaac Flores, 59, of Rialto, was arrested last month following a Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigation.

Flores is charged with four counts of lewd acts on a child, three counts of penetration under duress or fear and one count each of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and aggravated sexual assault of a minor, as well as sentence-enhancing allegations of targeting multiple victims in a sex crime.

Flores was arraigned Wednesday before Superior Court Judge Walter Kubelun, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Nov. 13 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

The defendant is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.

Sheriff's Sgt. James Merrill said an investigation into Flores' alleged offenses began at the start of August, when "multiple victims" appeared at the sheriff's Moreno Valley station, saying they had been victimized "at a residence in the 26000 block of Sandi Lane in Moreno Valley."

Merrill said detectives probed further and confirmed alleged assaults occurred not only at the Sandi Lane property, but "locations throughout the county."

Flores had access to the alleged victims, whose names were not disclosed, as a result of his being "the religious leader of a shamanistic community," according to the sergeant.

The specific sect was not identified, nor were the victims.

Investigators also did not detail the circumstances behind the alleged assaults.

Merrill said a warrant was obtained for the defendant's arrest, and it was served on him the morning of Aug. 7 at the border as he returned from a trip to Mexico.

Flores has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.