ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
Case # 14CF1874
Date: January 31, 2017
COURT OF APPEAL REVERSES TRIAL JUDGE’S ILLEGAL SENTENCE OF MAN WHO SODOMIZED TODDLER
*Defendant was originally sentenced to 10 years in state prison; court remands case for defendant to be sentenced to 25 years to life
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division One reversed a trial judge’s illegal 10 year sentence for a man who sodomized a toddler and ordered the judge to impose the mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration. Kevin Jonas Rojano-Nieto, 21, was found guilty by a jury on Dec. 3, 2014 of one felony count of sexual intercourse or sodomy with a child 10 years or younger and one felony count of lewd acts upon a child under 14. His resentencing date is to be determined.
“The Orange County District Attorney’s Office applauds the decision by the Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division One, which recognizes that the Legislature’s mandated punishment of 25 years to life for committing sodomy on a toddler is a constitutionally valid sentence designed to protect the most vulnerable victims in our community,” Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas stated. “This was a good day for child victims of brutal sex assaults and the People of Orange County.” Continue reading
