Sonoma man gets 19 years in molestation case

After pleading guilty to two charges of child molestation involving a nine-year-old girl, David Jimenez, 36, has been sentenced to 19 years in state prison.

The Sonoma man was a trusted member of the victim’s family, according to District Attorney Jill Ravitch. “(Jimenez) used his position of trust and confidence to groom this young girl,” she said.  “These were calculated acts and betrayed not only the victim, but her family as well. The lengthy prison sentence is an appropriate outcome.”

The crimes came to light when the victim’s mother found inappropriate material on the child’s phone. The child told her mother that Jimenez had shown it to her. The ensuing investigation revealed that the child had been molested repeatedly for at least a year, when she was in the defendant’s care.

In August the defendant pled no contest to one charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child, as well as a second charge of lewd acts on a child under the age of 14.  The defendant was sentenced to a total sentence of 19 years in prison, and he was ordered to register as a sexual offender for the rest of his life.

At Wednesday’s sentencing hearing the court noted that he hopes the young girl can recover from the devastating events she experienced.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Ashley W Hendon, assisted by District Attorney Victim Advocate Gladys Wheeler.  Detectives Theodore Van Bebber and Daniel Avina of Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office headed the investigation.