Santa Rosa Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Molesting Multiple Children

Juan Ferrel-Gonzalez, 42 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced today by the Honorable Ken Gnoss to serve a total sentence of 342 years to life in prison after being convicted in December of 2025 of multiple sexual assault crimes against 4 minors.

District Attorney Carla Rodriguez stated, “We are thankful for the jury’s service in this case and believe that the lengthy sentence is appropriate considering this defendant’s deplorable actions against four separate victims.”

The crimes first came to light in 2018 when one of the four victims reported to a school counselor that she had been sexually assaulted by Ferrel-Gonzalez. Over the course of the investigation, Santa Rosa Police Department detectives discovered the defendant had sexually assaulted three additional children. All victims had been assaulted between 2008 and 2018 and were between the age of 8 and 16 years old at the time of the abuse.

The four child victims each testified during the trial, at the conclusion of which the jury found Ferrel-Gonzalez guilty of 27 separate felony offenses involving various acts of child molestation. The jury also found true additional allegations that there were multiple victims in the case.

The Honorable Ken Gnoss presided over the trial and issued the sentence on March 10, 2026. The Court sentenced Ferrel-Gonzalez consecutively on all counts, finding that the crimes all involved separate victims, or the same victim, but on separate occasions. As a result of the California Legislature’s enactment of “elder parole,” despite the life sentence, Ferrel-Gonzalez will become eligible for parole consideration after serving only 20 years of his sentence.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Ashley W Hendon, assisted by District Attorney Investigator Dave Linscomb. Detective Justin McLean of the Santa Rosa Police Department headed the investigation.

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