Man sentenced for multiple molestations
A Salinas man will receive a 30-year stipulated prison sentence after pleading no contest.
SALINAS >> A Salinas man has pleaded no contest to four felony counts involving various allegations of child molestation and will receive a 30-year stipulated prison sentence, according to a press release from the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office.
Two of the counts concerning Rafael Becerra, 47, allege the acts involved force or occurred multiple times over the course of 22 years.
A stipulated sentence is one that both sides in a trial agree to.
Becerra will be sentenced to 30 years in prison and will be forced to register as a sex offender for 20 years after being released from prison.
In 2005, Jane Doe 1, a relative of Becerra, disclosed to a school counselor that she was being sexually abused by Becerra. At the time, the Salinas Police Department was unable to follow up with Jane Doe 1 to obtain more details and closed the case.
In 2011, Jane Doe 1 again disclosed that abuse to a school employee, but was unable to proceed with an investigation because of the emotional difficulty of the process.
In 2019, when it was discovered that Becerra may have sexually abused other children, Jane Doe 1 agreed to come forward and give a full statement despite still suffering from extreme emotional distress from the abuse. She disclosed that Becerra had sexually abused her on a regular basis, starting at the age of 6 and continuing until she was a teenager.
Becerra pleaded to one count of continuous sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 14 as a result of Jane Doe 1’s disclosure.
That same year, Jane Doe 2, also a relative of Becerra, and under the age of 10, disclosed to her family that she was forcibly molested by him while visiting his house on multiple occasions starting when she was 6 years old. During a forensic interview, Jane Doe 2 disclosed multiple incidents that involved substantial sexual conduct. As a result of her allegations, Becerra pleaded to lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14 involving force.
After Jane Doe 2’s disclosure, two more families came forward with identical allegations.
Jane Doe 3 and Jane Doe 4, both under the age of 10, alleged that Becerra had sexually molested them as well. Both children alleged that the conduct occurred more than once and when they were both between the ages of 4 to 6 years old. Becerra pleaded to two counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14.
Two of the counts concerning Rafael Becerra, 47, allege the acts involved force or occurred multiple times over the course of 22 years.