Two Cousins Sentenced to Hundreds of Years in Prison After Child Molestation Convictions

On Thursday January 2, 2025, Judge Mark Urioste sentenced Giovany Neftali Barrientos-Perez to serve 500 years 4 months to life, and sentenced Bayron Vasquez to serve 485 years to life in state prison, for crimes committed against multiple children. The sentencing was the culmination of a nearly six-week trial after which both men were convicted of a combined 43 counts of child molestation. The guilty verdicts included convictions for lewd and lascivious conduct with a child, sexual intercourse with a child under the age of eleven, aggravated sexual assault of a child, forcible rape of a child, and the continuous sexual abuse of a minor.

District Attorney Carla Rodriguez stated, “Mr. Barrientos-Perez and Mr. Vasquez engaged in a horrific pattern of conduct that would never have been uncovered without the bravery of the victims. During the lengthy and very grueling jury trial, all four victims persevered and as a result, both defendants were held accountable for their crimes. I want to emphasize that it is never too late to report sexual abuse. We are thankful for the jury’s service and concur with the court’s sentence.”

This case arose out of an investigation which began nearly six years ago. In 2019, a Santa Rosa school employee came forward to report a disclosure of child abuse made by a student. This led Santa Rosa Police into a sprawling multi-year investigation which ultimately implicated three different people who were suspected of abusing four young girls between the years of 2010 and 2021. In March 2022, Santa Rosa detectives arrested cousins Bayron Randolfo Vasquez, Giovany Neftali Barrientos-Perez, and a third suspect based on their investigation.

Charges were filed alleging Vasquez had molested four children, Barrientos-Perez two, and the third defendant one. In late 2022, the third defendant resolved her case and was sentenced to serve six years in state prison. Vasquez and Barrientos-Perez exercised their right to a jury trial. After months of pre-trial litigation and multiple counsel changes, the trial began on October 1, 2024.

At trial, the jury was presented weeks of testimony from witnesses as well as the four girls, some of which were adults by this time. The four victims bravely took the stand and recounted years of grooming, manipulation, and sexual abuse at the hands of the two remaining defendants. The jury began deliberations on November 15^th and returned guilty verdicts on all charged counts on November 25^th.

At yesterday’s sentencing, all four survivors of abuse provided powerful statements to the Court detailing how they had been impacted by the actions of the defendants. After hearing comments from the attorneys, Judge Urioste called the case “one of the most terrible set of circumstances” he had ever seen in his career as an attorney or judge. He then sentenced each Defendant to the maximum possible prison term available under the law.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Brian Morimune, assisted by District Attorney Investigator Stephen Bussell. The late Detective Marylou Armer initiated the investigation, which was continued and brought to fruition by Detective Justin McLean, both with the Santa Rosa Police Department.

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