Sex offender pleads guilty to assaulting women at Newport Beach residence

As part of a plea deal reached with Orange County prosecutors, a registered sex offender pleaded guilty on Monday to sexually assaulting two women in their Newport Beach home three years ago.

Navdeep Singh Jhaj, 35, reportedly had a one-night stand with one of the women in February 2023 in her home, but the unidentified woman rejected his subsequent attempts to date her, prosecutors alleged in court papers.

When the woman returned home from work on March 4, 2023, she left the front door open for some guests who were staying with her, which allowed Jhaj the chance to enter her home about 3 a.m., prosecutors said.

The victim woke up to the defendant sexually assaulting her, according to court filings. When she told him to stop he said, “you invited me over,’’ prosecutors said. Recognizing him, the woman pleaded with him to leave, promising not to tell anyone, according to prosecutors. Jhaj left, and the victim locked the door and called a friend, who contacted police.

Sometime that same night, Jhaj reentered the house and went upstairs, slipping into the bed of the other female occupant of the residence, prosecutors said. The woman woke up to the defendant straddling her. He allegedly said his name was “Sunny’’ and that he had been watching her, according to the filing.

Jhaj then told the woman to not worry and that he had just showered, police testified at his preliminary hearing. The two had a 10-minute discussion, during which Jhaj said he was a friend of the other woman in the home.

She eventually persuaded him to let her go, saying she had to get ready to start her day, police testified. Jhaj got up, got dressed and left the room, police testified.

The victim locked her door and as officers arrived at the residence, Jhaj fled, prosecutors said. He was arrested days later in Irvine.

During a March 13, 2023, arraignment hearing Jhaj pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault with the intent to commit a sexual offense in a first-degree burglary, one count of sexual penetration of an unconscious victim and failing to notify law enforcement within five days of a change of address, according to court documents.

However, with the burglary charge subsequently stricken, the defendant on Monday pleaded guilty to the remainder of the charges, all felonies. He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 20.

Jhaj’s sex offender status stems from a October 2015 incident, in which he reportedly went to a friend’s home and climbed into bed with a female victim, sexually assaulting her, according to prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to felony sexual battery on Oct. 27, 2017, and was sentenced to one year in jail and five years of probation.

As part of his plea deal, one count of sexual penetration by a foreign object by force and one count of sexual penetration by foreign object under belief the perpetrator is another person, both felonies, as well as a misdemeanor count of touching an intimate part of another person were dismissed.

—Assistant editor Sara Cardine contributed to this report.