Crime & Safety
Jury Convicts Man for Molestation of Petaluma, Santa Rosa Girls
The girls were between 4 and 11; abuse occurred between 1992 and 2003.
A Sonoma County jury Monday convicted a 65-year-old man of molesting two girls at homes in Santa Rosa and Petaluma over a 10-year period.
The jury deliberated about two hours before convicting 65-year-old Victor Vargas Gonzalez of Santa Rosa of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14 and lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor, Deputy District Attorney Barbara Nanney said.
Gonzalez faces a maximum term of 14 years plus 45 years to life in prison when Superior Court Judge Rene Chouteau sentences him on May 27, according to the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office.
The molestations happened between 1992 and 2003 when the victims were between 4 and 11 years old, prosecutors said.
When Gonzalez was arrested on an unrelated charge, one of the victims informed a deputy about the molestations, according to the district attorney's office.
The victims testified against Gonzalez during the two-day trial, Nanney said.
District Attorney Jill Ravitch said the case "signifies another betrayal of trust." "We applaud the victims for disclosing the abuse," Ravitch said.
-- Bay City News
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