Port Hueneme man sentenced to 325 years for 13 felony counts of child molestation Tuesday
VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. – On Tuesday, Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced that Jesus Andrew Sapien of Port Hueneme was sentenced to 325 years after he was convicted of 13 felony counts of lewd acts on a child as well as multiple special allegations.
Sapien was convicted by a jury on Aug. 12, 2024, of 13 felony counts and the following special allegations:
- PC 667.61(e)(4)-Sex Crimes Aggravated Circumstances
- PC 667.61(j)(2)-Victim Under the Age of 14
- PC 1203.066(a)(8)-Substantial Sexual Conduct
- CRC 4.421(a)(11)-Defendant Took Advantage of a Position of Trust
- CRC 4.421(a)(3)-Victim was Vulnerable
In May of 2020, the mother of a six-year-old sexual assault survivor reported the molestation to detectives with the Port Hueneme Police Department after the child told her mother that Sapien had molested her several times over multiple months explained the Ventura County District Attorney's Office in a press release about the conviction Tuesday.
According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, two more children came forward to disclose they had also been subjected to repeated sexual abuse by Sapien after he had gained access to all of the victims through "a familial relationship".
"The defendant betrayed the trust of a close-knit family to commit unspeakable acts of sexual abuse against multiple children," said Deputy District Attorney Bejamin Moreno, who prosecuted the case. "Today’s sentence reflects the severity of those crimes. While nothing can undo the harm the defendant has caused, I hope this sentence provides the victims and their families the closure they so profoundly deserve and ensures that the defendant will never again harm a child."
