Santa Rosa Child Molester Sentenced to Prison for Possessing Child Pornography

Defendant Chad Allen Capitani, 48 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced on December 5, 2019 to serve 8 years in state prison by the Honorable Mark Urioste after pleading in October of this year to charges of possession of child pornography. The 8-year sentence included an enhancement under California’s Three Strikes Law for a prior sex offense conviction Capitani suffered in 2001.

In the 2001 case, Capitani was convicted of committing a lewd and lascivious act against a child under the age of 14.  As a result, he is required to register as a sex offender for life.  In 2018, Capitani was convicted of failing to register, and was placed on formal supervised probation through the Sonoma County Probation Department.  In August, 2019, during a routine search, the probation department discovered 127 pornographic photos of children on Capitani’s phone. He was subsequently charged with the specific crime of possession of child pornography by someone required to register as a sex offender.

District Attorney Ravitch stated, “Possession of child pornography is a form of child sex abuse, and is a well-known precursor to further crimes against children. As such, we take these cases very seriously. Clearly, this defendant has a history of predatory conduct toward children and this prison sentence is very appropriate.”

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Andrew Lukas. Detective Theodore  VanBebber of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department headed the investigation.