Salinas man sentenced to 48 years in prison for child molestation

A Salinas man has been sentenced to 48 years in prison for molesting his step-daughters.

He also has to register as a sex offender and is not allowed to contact the victims.

40-year-old Joel Milan Rodriguez was accused of having sexual contact by his now adult step-daughters when they were seven and ten years old. Their older sister says that he also tried to touch her while she was sleeping.

Rodriguez entered no contest pleas to two counts of forcible lewd acts upon a child, one count of forcible sexual penetration upon a child and two counts of non-forcible lewd acts upon a child in September.

All three of the women were in the courtroom during the sentencing yesterday. They said they did not set out to ruin his life, but wanted to move on with their own. They also thanked an uncle who helped them report the crime.