Seaside man pleads guilty to child molestation

A Seaside man has plead guilty to four counts of forcibly sexually molesting a child under the age of 14.

48-year-old Andres Vargas Herrera was accused by a family member who said he molested her several times when she was between the ages of 10 and 12-years-old. She says the assaults happened when her mother wasn’t around, and she was afraid, so she did not report it immediately.

Herrera is facing 22 to 28 years in state prison and will be required to register as a sex offender for life. All four charges are violent felonies, so they are considered “strikes” under California’s Three Strikes law.