Man from Southern California puts jail time for raping his sister
A man from Southern California was given a prison sentence on Thursday for sexual offenses including rape on his younger sister.
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office reports that 37-year-old Stephen Delacruz was given a 30-year jail sentence for offenses he perpetrated against his 8-year-old sister when he was 14 and 15 years old.
Samantha J., the victim, went into the Oxnard Police Department in 2019 to report the incidents that happened in 2001 and 2002.
According to court filings, Delacruz isolated Samantha during the occurrences in their Oxnard home and threatened to kill her if she reported him.
Authorities claimed that before the sexual assaults, Delacruz frequently brandished a knife.
The first charges against Delacruz were brought in juvenile court by the DA’s office on the grounds that she was underage at the time of the incidents.
Senior Deputy DA Erik Nasarenko, however, argued that the acts “involved significant sophistication and planning and were especially violent and severe” in order to move the case from juvenile court to adult court.
In agreement, the juvenile court judge moved the case. But in 2022, the state legislature changed the standards that judges in juvenile court have to follow when determining whether to send a case to adult court.
Officials stated that the new standards required courts to conclude that a kid was not suitable for rehabilitation through the juvenile court “by clear and convincing evidence.”
Following this, a transfer hearing was held before a different Ventura County judge who used the revised standards to determine that the case should be transferred to adult court since the “allegations were horrendous.”
Delacruz entered a guilty plea to all eight felonies, including three counts of forcible rape, three counts of forcible oral copulation, and two counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object, prior to the case going to trial. Additionally, he acknowledged the specific accusations that the victim was younger than eighteen.
Samantha battled for justice and accountability in this case with amazing resiliency and determination, according to Nasarenko. It required extraordinary bravery and strength for her to stand in front of her brother during today’s sentencing to deliver her victim impact statement.
Delacruz received a 30-year state prison sentence.