A Solano County man convicted last year of 17 counts of child sex assaults was sentenced Tuesday to 17 years, four months in state prison, The Reporter has learned.
Official court records show Venancio Dizon De Guzman Jr., 50, appeared for his sentencing in Department 9 in the Justice Center in Fairfield, where Judge Carlos R. Gutierrez handed down the punishment, including an indeterminate sentence of 150 years to life, meaning DeGuzman’s release date is left open.
The judge, who noted De Guzman has not complied with the Penal Code section dealing the relinquishment of firearms after a conviction, denied probation, too, and also told De Guzman he would be required to register as a sex offender and ordered him to complete AIDS testing.
The judge also ordered De Guzman to pay more than $21,000 in fines and restitution.
Deputy Public Defenders Pamela Boskin and Denisse Tanasa represented De Guzman and they requested a new trial, but the judge denied the motion.
Five people, including some of De Guzman’s victims, offered victim impact statements during the sentencing hearing.
De Guzman will remain in the Claybank Detention Facility in Fairfield until he is transferred to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
His sentencing came after jurors on Sept. 1, after nearly three days of deliberations following a five-week trial, entered guilty verdicts on 17 of 21 alleged counts against him.
The 12-member panel convicted De Guzman of nine counts of aggravated assault of a child under 14, rape; one count of aggravated assault of a child under 14, oral copulation; two counts of attempted aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14, oral copulation; one count of forcible rape; and four counts of a lewd act on a child under 14.
However, jurors found De Guzman not guilty on a count of aggravated sexual assault of a child, oral copulation and were unable to unanimously agree on several lesser charges.
Two of four De Guzman victims — who as young girls suffered from his actions over 20 years ago, with some of the crimes dating back to 1998 — were in the courtroom to hear the jury’s verdicts.
Commenting on what led the jury to convict De Guzman on the bulk of the charges, Deputy District Attorney Kathleen McBride, who led the prosecution, said, “The jury was ultimately convinced by the obviously unscripted and often very emotional testimony offered by the victims from the witness stand.”
“The jury’s verdict reflects their abiding belief in the truth told by the young women in this case, who all demonstrated incredible courage and strength throughout this entire process,” she added.
Arrested in October 2018, De Guzman pleaded not guilty to the charges.
McBride had said that De Guzman abused the girls when they were between the ages of 9 and 13.
The Solano County District Attorney’s Office filed its complaint on Oct. 16, 2018. De Guzman was held to answer for the charges on April 29, 2019. His bail was set at $2.5 million.
Source: www.mercurynews.com