DA: Man sentenced for raping teen expected to serve 50% or less of sentence

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) The Monterey County District Attorney's Office said a man convicted of raping a teenage girl while she was unconscious has been sentenced to 9 years and 8 months in prison, but the DA's office said he is expected to serve 50% or less of that sentence.

The teen and her four siblings were removed from their parents' care by CPS in 2014 because of their father's alleged abuse. After that, they were separated and placed in foster care until they were placed with Soledad resident Raul Arroyo, a relative.

During the fall of 2015, the teen said she noticed a change in Arroyo's behavior. She said he complimented her looks and touched her in a way that made her uncomfortable. The DA's Office said Arroyo made sexual advances toward her in 2016 before he reportedly raped her in May of that year.

The teen said she was afraid of reporting what happened because of her experiences from being separated from her family, but she told a few people. Later that month, the DA's office said her friends encouraged her to tell a mandated reporter at Soledad High School what happened, and that person contacted the police.

After the incident was reported, Soledad police seized the victim's blanket and bed liner, and the DA's office said multiple stains tested positive for Arroyo's DNA.

Soledad man convicted of raping unconscious teen

Arroyo received the maximum possible sentence, but the DA's office said he will serve 50% or less of the sentence because of Prop 57.

The DA's office said the bill was intended to reduce prison sentences for non-violent felons who committed a minor crime, but it also increased the amount of credits felons would receive if they were in custody for a crime not listed as one of the violent crimes for the Three Strikes Law. The agency said it also allows the Board of Parole to not consider most enhancements.

"This means that any criminal defendant whose prison sentence stemmed from committing multiple felonies or
using a deadly weapon to commit the crime could serve substantially less than 50% of his prison sentence," the DA's office said in a statement.

The agency shared a list of examples of statutorily non-violent crimes where inmates may serve 50% or less of their sentence:

• Penal Code § 245(a)(1) – Assault with a Deadly Weapon
• Penal Code § 261(a)(3) – Rape of an Intoxicated woman
• Penal Code § 261(a)(4) – Rape of an Unconscious Woman/Child
• Penal Code § 266h – Pimping a minor
• Penal Cope § 266h – Procuring a minor with threats for prostitution
• Penal Code § 273.5(a) – Corporal Punishment on a Spouse [Felony Domestic Violence]
• Penal Code § 273A(a) – Child Abuse Likely to Result in Death/Great Bodily Injury
• Penal Code § 288(c)(1) – Lewd and Lascivious Acts with a Child Age 14/15 [Child
• Molestation]
• Penal Code § 311.4 – Employing or Coercing a Minor to Produce Child Pornography
• Penal Code § 368(a) – Elder Abuse Under Circumstances or Conditions Likely to Produce
• Great Bodily Harm or Death
• Penal Code § 647.6(a) – Stalking
• Penal Code § 11413 – Terrorism, Use of Destructive Device
• Penal Code § 18740 - Exploding a Destructive Device with Intent to Injure or Terrorize

Read the text of the bill, including analysis and arguments for and against it, below.