SALINAS — The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office announced that two accused child molesters have been sentenced.
The first defendant, 53-year-old Roberto Flores Bernal of Salinas, was sentenced to 24 years in state prison on three counts of forcible lewd acts on a child under the age of 14. He must serve 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.
He will also have to register as a sex offender with the State of California for the rest of his life. The charges constitutes three “strikes” under California’s Three Strikes Law.
Bernal was accused and sentenced for forcefully having an eight-year-old female relative of his engage in sexual acts. He also threatened her to keep her from telling anyone. The abuse was brought to light after another relative discovered inappropriate contact between the two and encouraged the victim’s mother to have a talk with her, at which point the victim disclosed what had been going on.
The second defendant, 23-year-old Tony Vasquez Guevara, also of Salinas, was sentenced to eight years in state prison for one count of lewd act on a child under the age of 14.
He is was also sentenced for one count of unlawful intercourse and two counts of annoying or molesting a child. He will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. The defendant also pled to one “strike” under the Three Strikes Law.
For a little over a year, Guevara was in a sexual relationship with a then 13-year-old female relative, which continued until August 2015 when it was discovered by her parents and reported to authorities.
During their investigation, authorities also discovered that Guevara had also engaged in inappropriate behavior with two other underage female relatives.
