Jury Convicts Man of Multiple Counts of Child Molestation

Defendant Paul Dwayne Kilgore, 70 years old of Sonoma, was found guilty yesterday by a Sonoma county jury of six counts of child molestation following a three week trial. The jury also found true an allegation that Kilgore had committed these offenses against multiple victims, who were all under the age of fourteen years old.

District Attorney Ravitch stated, “This defendant abused his position of trust in a way that’s hard to fathom. During the trial evidence was presented showing he had abused children going back decades. We hope this verdict brings some solace to the victims, and we are thankful for the jury’s thoughtful analysis of the evidence.”

On August 27, 2016 a witness observed the defendant in a hot tub at Parkpoint Health Club in Healdsburg talking to two young boys about their genitalia. The witness sensed something odd about the interaction and reported it to the front desk. Law enforcement was then contacted and learned that one of the boys, who was 11 years old, had been sexually abused on multiple occasions by the defendant, starting when the boy was 6 years old. The crimes had occurred in the locker rooms at local pools, and in the defendant’s bedroom. Further investigation led to two additional victims making disclosures.

During the trial four additional witnesses testified to incidents where Kilgore had molested them. However, those acts could not be prosecuted as they were barred by the statute of limitations.

Kilgore will be sentenced on May 2, 2018, by the Honorable Robert Laforge, who presided over this trial.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Javier Vaca, assisted by District Attorney Investigator Kris Allen. The Healdsburg Police Department headed the investigation, led by Officer Craig Smith