Child molester gets 7 years in prison
A city man who admitted sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 11 has been sentenced to seven years in state prison, the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday.
David Vega-Soto, 38, formerly of 82 Henry St., was sentenced Tuesday by Ulster County Judge Donald A. Williams, who also imposed 10 years of post-release supervision, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Seven years is the maximum sentence for the Class D violent felony offense of sexual abuse in the first degree, the sole count of the indictment to which the VegaSoto pleaded guilty on Oct. 12.
He initially was charged with the felonies of sexual abuse and criminal sex act and the misdemeanors of sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child. At the time, the District Attorney’s Office said Vega-Sota sexually assaulted two girls, ages 6 and 12.
In pleading guilty, Vega-Soto admitted that on June 25, he “subjected another person to sexual contact who was less than 11 years old,” the District Attorney’s office said.
Vega-Soto will be required to register under the state Sexual Offender Registration Act for a minimum of 20 years, and an order of protection issued on behalf of his victims will be in effect until 2035.
Vega-Soto is a citizen of Mexico and may face action by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after his release from prison, the prosecutor’s office said.
Vega-Soto was arrested on June 30 following an investigation by the Ulster County Family and Child Advocacy Center, which comprises members of the District Attorney’s Office, the state police, the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office and Ulster County Child Protective Services.
He was indicted by an Ulster County grand jury on July 11 and charged with the one count of felony sexual abuse.