A former resident of Pinal County has been sentenced to 117 years in the Arizona Department of Corrections for sexually abusing a family member for years before the family moved to California, according to a news release.
On June 30 a Pinal County Superior Judge sentenced Juan Carlos Sandoval, 56, of San Luis Obispo, Calif. to 117 years after his conviction in April on multiple charges.
These charges included four felony counts of Molestation of a Child, all Dangerous Crimes against Children, one felony count of Sexual Abuse and five felony counts of Sexual Conduct with a Minor.
Authorities say in 2014 after the family moved to California, the victim revealed that Sandoval abused her over the course of nine years.
Authorities in California did an initial investigation but then turned the case over the Pinal County Sheriff's Office after they discovered that the sexual abuse happened when the family lived in Pinal County.
PCSO extradited Sandoval back to Arizona to face his charges and a jury trial.
The victim reported that she was only 9-years-old when Sandoval started molesting her. The victim said Sandoval touched her inappropriately and forced her to conduct sexual acts on him and performed sexual acts on her without her consent.
“The Pinal County Attorney’s Office takes no case lightly, especially when it comes to crimes against our children. We always start by believing and it pains me to think people within our community continue to victimize our children. We continue to prosecute these types of cases and ask the courts for the harshest of sentences. We hope sentences like this one send a strong message to our community that crimes of this nature will not be tolerated in Pinal County,” said Pinal County Attorney Lando Voyles in the news release.
