Newport Beach Man Receives Five-Year Prison Sentence for Sex Crimes

A 42-year-old Newport Beach man was sentenced to five years in state prison for sexually molesting a 12-year-old girl he met through a social networking site in November 2010. Police say the man pretended to be 24 and was arrested when he was about to meet the girl. Prosecutors said the man picked up the girl from her junior high school and took her to the Back Bay area in Newport Beach where he had sexual relations with her. On another day, he again took the girl to his home in Newport Beach where he sexually assaulted her, officials said.

The girl’s mother contacted authorities after she saw text messages exchanged between the two. The man accepted a plea deal, which amounts to two strikes under the California Three Strikes Law. He pleaded guilty to 23 felony counts of luring a child with the intent to commit a lewd or lascivious act. This means that if he has another brush with the law after being released from prison, it could be considered a third strike. A third conviction could lead to life in prison.

Under California Penal Code Section 288: “Any person who willfully and lewdly commits any lewd or lascivious act…upon or with the body, or any part or member thereof, of a child who is under the age of 14 years, with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions, or sexual desires of that person or the child, is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight years.”

If you or a loved one has been accused of sex crimes involving children, the experienced Newport Beach sex crime defense lawyers at Sitkoff & Hanrahan can help defend those charges and help you obtain the best possible outcome in your case. Please call us at (866) 430-8383 to discuss your case at absolutely no cost.