A 59-year-old Santa Clara man was sentenced to eight years in
prison Oct. 28 after a jury found him guilty of two counts of lewd
and lascivious acts with a minor under age 14 earlier this
year.
A 59-year-old Santa Clara man was sentenced to eight years in prison Oct. 28 after a jury found him guilty of two counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor under age 14 earlier this year.
The sentencing was immediately appealed by the man, Salvador Arciniega, who hoped to receive a punishment of felony probation instead of jail time, according to the court documents. The sentencing will force Arciniega to file as a sex offender.
Arciniega was arrested in 2008 after the girl and her mother filed a report of sexual abuse. The incidents took place in 2007 in Santa Clara and in 2008 in Hollister, according to the court documents. The girl was 7 and 8, respectively, at the times of the incidents.
The victim’s mother reported the second incident after she discovered a mark on her daughter’s body, Deputy District Attorney Karen Forcum said.
A video of the child’s original report was used within the trial, and she did testify in court, according to court documents.
“It was a pure indication of what the child experienced, in the child’s own words,” Forcum said.
The week-long trail was held April 12 to April 16, where the jury found him guilty on two counts, according the court reports. A third count of causing injury was dismissed before the trial started.
Arciniega was born in Mexico in 1950, and moved to the United States and Hollister in 1978. He lived in Hollister until 1983, until he moved to Gilroy. He is an American citizen.
According to court documents, Arciniega had no criminal record prior to his arrest. Arciniega, who lived in Santa Clara, spent 70 hours a month working with his church, according to court documents.
He was pursuing a felony probation sentencing because he lacked a record and he wanted to go to counseling, according to the court documents.
The probation department recommended prison because he didn’t admit to committing the crime, Forcum said.
An appeal is common, said attorney Brian Worthington of Salinas.
“Basically, there is one every time,” he said.
Worthington was Arciniega’s third attorney during the two years between the arrest and trial. Worthington was hired to investigate the possibility of a new trial, but Arciniega decided not to pursue it.
