Visalia man sentenced for child molestation
On Monday in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, the court sentenced Dennis Saenz Moreno, 69 of Visalia, to 25 years-to-life in prison for child molestation.
Moreno will also be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life. On July 21, Moreno pleaded no contest to two counts of sexual penetration with a child 10 years old or younger and four counts of lewd acts upon a child under the age of 14.
All crimes involved substantial sexual conduct. Each count is a felony and are considered strike offenses.
The crimes occurred between February 1991 and May 2018 against six female victims between 5 and 14 years old at the time of the sexual assaults. The evidence indicated some of the sexual assaults continued until the age of 18 against one of the victims.
“At first glance, it would appear that the sentence doesn’t match the horrendous crimes committed by the defendant, and I wouldn’t necessarily disagree,” said Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward. “Part of supporting victims of crime is to help them heal in a manner that suits them.
“In this case, healing meant moving forward without enduring a trial. Based on the defendant’s age and the fact that he will qualify for review under California’s new Elder Parole process regardless if the sentence was longer, we believe this is a very appropriate sentence.”
Assembly Bill 3234 passed in 2020 provides inmates who are 50 years and older and have been incarcerated for 20 continuous years will be eligible for a parole. That means Moreno could be eligible for parole at the age of 89.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Chelsea Wayt of the Crimes against Children Division and was investigated by the Visalia Police Department and the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office of Investigations.