San Francisco Man Guilty Of Molesting Grandsons In Santa Barbara

A San Francisco man on trial for sexually molesting his two grandsons in Santa Barbara for years was found guilty Wednesday of the charges against him.

After a nearly two month long trial and four days of deliberations, the jury reached unanimous guilty verdicts on all five felony counts of forcible child molestation against Manuel Peter Munoz.

The 65-year-old was living in Santa Barbara with the boys and their parents between 2007 and 2009, when the crimes occurred.

The youngest boy was five years old at the time, his older brother was 10.

The parents of both victims were present for the verdict and relieved by the result.

“I commend the bravery of the child victims for reporting these horrendous crimes and their willingness to testify about them,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney Paula Waldman. “I also applaud the children’s parents for trusting our criminal justice system. Now, because of the jurors good work, we will be able to keep a child molester out of the public and away from children for the rest of his life.”

Both boys took the stand and testified during the trial in Santa Barbara Superior Court.

The defendant also took the stand and denied all of the charges against him.

Munoz faces 75 years to life in prison when he is sentenced at the end of January.