Gonzalo Cuevas extradited, tried, and sentenced to 48 years for sex crimes against three children
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – Gonzalo Gutierrez Cuevas, formerly of Goleta, was sentenced to 48 years in prison for repeated sex crimes committed against three children.
Before Cuevas could be arrested for the crimes, he fled to Mexico in 2019 and he was eventually caught and extradited back to the country explained the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office share that the alleged abuse in this case took place in Goleta between January of 2014 and January of 2019.
After being extradited, six additional survivors came forward and detailed that Cuevas has molested them and their allegations ranged from the late 1970s to the mid-2010s stated the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
The 61-year-old former Goleta resident was not charged for those new allegations due to the statute of limitations as well as the conditions of the extradition treaty between the United States and Mexico explained the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
In January of this year, he was arraigned on his original charges and was sentenced by Judge Pauline Maxwell in Department 2 of the Santa Barbara County Superior Court shared the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
"While these crimes could not be alleged due to the statute of limitations and the nuances of our extradition treaty with Mexico, the bravery of these victims in coming forward certainly encouraged the Defendant to take responsibility for his actions after decades of having abused young girls within his reach," read a press release about the sentencing Friday from the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office. "All too often, survivors of sexual abuse remain silent out of fear that no one will believe them. Like many others, the historical victims in this case believed their voices would be dismissed. But the three named victims found the strength to come forward, and through their bravery, they brought an end to the Defendant’s decades-long pattern of abuse. With the dedicated work of Senior Deputy District Attorney Lauren Franco, who prosecuted the case, these girls and women finally secured the justice they so rightfully deserved."
