Salinas man pleads no contest to child molestation charges involving four children
SALINAS, Calif. (KION) A Salinas man, 47-year-old Rafael Becerra, has pleaded no contest to four felony charges relating to child molestation allegations.
The first victim told a school counselor that Becerra was abusing her in 2005, but police were not able to follow up with her, so the case was closed. She told a school employee again in 2011, but the DA's Office said because it was so emotionally difficult for her, investigators were not able to move forward with the case.
The DA's Office said that when she found out that Becerra had reportedly abused other children, she agreed to give a full statement in 2019. She told investigators that Becerra had regularly sexually assaulted her from the age of 6 until she was a teenager. Becerra pleaded no contest to one count of continuous sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 14.
In 2019, a second victim, who is a relative of Becerra's under the age of 10, told family members that he molested her when she visited his house several times starting when she was 6, according to the DA's Office. Becerra plead no contest to lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14 involving force in connection to the case.
After the second victim came forward, two other families reported similar allegations related to two more victims, both under the age of 10. The families said Becerra molested the girls, and the children said it happened more than once when they were between the ages of 4 and 6. Becerra pleaded no contest to a count of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14 for each of the two victims.
Becerra is expected to be sentenced to 30 years in prison. After that, he is expected to be required to register as a sex offender for the following 20 years.
