Pismo Beach man sentenced to 16 years in prison for child molestation
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. – A Pismo Beach man who was convicted for molesting a family member who was under the age of 14 was sentenced to 16 years in state prison, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office announced on Friday.
Donald Keith Roberts, 43, molested a "young family member" in Pismo Beach in 2014, and later moved to Washington where he has resided since, said District Attorney Dan Dow.
The young family member moved out of state and reported the crime to out-of-state authorities in 2019, and those authorities notified the Pismo Beach Police Department.
The police department investigated the crime and filed criminal charges against Roberts. Then, after receiving a Governor's Warrant authorizing extradition in 2020, two investigators from the DA's Office Bureau of Investigation retrieved Roberts from Washington and brought him back into San Luis Obispo County for prosecution, Dow said.
“The survivor was courageous when reporting the crime years after it happened and by doing so provided the opportunity to hold this predator accountable,” said Dow.
“We thank our law enforcement partners in Washington state for assisting in the initial investigation, and Pismo Beach Police Department for quickly investigating this crime so that it could be successfully prosecuted, and the victim afforded justice.”
Roberts was sentenced for two counts of molesting a child under the age of 14, and his prison term was doubled to 16 years because he had already been convicted for attempted murder in 1999 – which is a violent felony under California's Three Strikes Law, said District Attorney Dan Dow.
He pleaded "no contest" – which is treated the same as a guilty plea for the purpose of criminal conviction – to the counts and admitted the prior "strike" conviction, Dow said.
