<p>Man Sentenced to 36 Years in Prison for Child Molestation </p>

Defendant Juan Lucas-Antonio, 38 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced yesterday afternoon by the Honorable Christopher Honigsberg to serve 36 years in state prison after pleading “no contest” in June of this year to felony charges of committing forcible lewd and lascivious acts upon minors under the age of 14 years old. 

The investigation into Lucas- Antonio began in 2020, following a disclosure by the victim to her mother. The then 10 year old victim described that Lucas- Antonio had been sexually assaulting her since she was six years old. During the investigation, a second victim reported that Lucas-Antonio had also molested her, beginning when she was 12 years old. The last incident had occurred just two weeks before the second victim was contacted by police. Lucas- Antonio had a close relationship with the victims’ family that allowed him access to the victims. 

When contacted by law enforcement, Lucas- Antonio initially denied the abuse, claiming he was just playing, but when confronted with the evidence against him, including the victims’ statements, and a third party’s observations of the abuse, he admitted to the molestation. 

The victims did not provide a statement at sentencing, but expressed their relief with the resolution.  

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Leslie Butori, assisted by District Attorney Investigator Dave Linscomb. The victims were assisted by Victim Advocates Elizabeth Garcia and Yesenia Valencia.