Salinas man receives 32 years in prison for forcible sex crimes involving a minor

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) A man from Salinas was sentenced to 32 years in prison after a jury convicted him of multiple forcible sex crimes involving a minor, according to the Monterey County District Attorney's Office.

The DA's office said 42-year-old, Moses Celestine, was a friend of the victims mother. Authorities said Celestine assaulted the victim in the mother's apartment after offering them marijuana in fall of 2020.

The DA's office said another assault took place on New Year's Eve in 2020 when Celestine offered to walk the victim home to her apartment when the victim was intoxicated. Celestine then preceded to take the victim to his apartment where he committed the assault. He threatened to report the victim's mother to CPS if they disclosed what he did. The victim reported the rape in March of 2020.

Celestine was sentenced to the maximum sentence of 32 years, the judge found the factors in aggravation outweighed the factors in mitigation. He will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.