Sutter County Man Pleads No-Contest to Child Sex Abuse, Gets 24 Years in Prison
Above: Marco Sandoval-Diaz | Sutter County District Attorney
A Sutter County man has been sentenced to 24 years in prison in connection to the sexual abuse of two children in his care.
According to a press release by the Sutter County District Attorney, 29-year-old Marco Antonio Sandoval-Diaz of Yuba City has been sentenced to 24 years in prison after pleading no-contest to two separate counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14. Sandoval-Diaz was the step-father to both of his victims and would frequently watch them while their mother was at work.
Sandoval-Diaz sexually abused the two girls in their Yuba City home over a three-year period from March 2016 to December 2019, the District Attorney’s Office said.
One of the victims eventually reported the abuse to her school counselor, who then contacted Child Protective Services and the Police Department. The Sutter County District Attorney’s Office filed criminal charges against Sandoval-Diaz on September 27, 2022, alleging two counts of sexual acts with a child under the age of 10. These charges each carried a potential life sentence.
According to the District Attorney, their office met with the victims’ parents as the case progressed through the justice system and learned that the victims were hoping the case would resolve without a trial. In order to protect them from more unnecessary exposure by having to testify in court and to satisfy the wishes of the victims’ parents, Deputy District Attorney Tamara Squires was able to successfully negotiate a resolution that protected the victims and the community from Sandoval-Diaz for decades.
District Attorney Jennifer R. Dupré said that “those who perpetrate these crimes against children are the worst type of criminals. These cases tend to be very difficult, as they require balancing the desire for ultimate justice with the need to protect these most vulnerable victims. Deputy District Attorney Squires did an admirable job working with the family and striking that necessary balance for these courageous victims.”
