Oxnard man gets 136-year sentence in sex crimes case, plans to appeal
An Oxnard man has been sentenced to more than 136 years in prison in connection with almost a dozen sex-related crimes involving children, but his attorney said he will appeal on constitutional and fairness grounds.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge Paul W. Baelly sentenced Manuel Aguilar Villalobos late last month after a jury convicted the defendant of molesting several girls in the Oxnard area. The allegations first came to light last year for crimes prosecutors said had been carried out over 15 years when the four girls were 6 to 16 years of age.
Baelly sentenced Villalobos to an indeterminate term of 130 years to life in prison with the potential for parole plus a fixed term of six years and eight months. Villalobos, 62, will not be eligible for parole for many decades and may not be eligible for the rest of his life in the estimation of Edward Andrews, the senior deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case.
"It seems very unlikely that he would have the opportunity to commit these crimes in the community again," Andrews said.
Villalobos, who was arrested in September, pleaded not guilty to all charges and testified in his own defense at his two-week trial. He asked for probation at the sentencing hearing, but Baelly rejected that proposal.
A jury convicted him in March on 11 counts of sex crimes. The alleged offenses included committing lewd acts upon a child under age 14, unlawful sexual intercourse and unlawful oral copulation. The jury also found true more than three dozen related factors including sexual contact with more than one victim under age 14, violating a position of trust and confidence and abusing vulnerable victims.
The convictions for crimes against three of the victims were based on inappropriate touching of their private parts and kissing that did not go so far as intercourse or oral sex, Andrews said. With the fourth, the defendant engaged in inappropriate touching at first but as she got older, his behavior progressed to intercourse and oral sex, Andrews said.
Villalobos' attorney, Damon Jenkins, argued against the sentence based on constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment and guarantees of equal protection and due process. Jenkins said he also objected based on new California laws aimed at reducing prison overcrowding that disproportionately affects minorities.
The defense presented evidence about Villalobos’ lack of a previous criminal record, his commitment to being a supportive father for his family and past traumas to lighten the penalties, but the court rejected those arguments, Jenkins said. Both the conviction and the sentence will be appealed, the senior deputy public defender said.
Villalobos is being held in the Todd Road Jail outside Santa Paula but court records suggest that his transfer to prison is imminent.
Andrews declined to comment on the still pending appeal because he has not seen it.
Kathleen Wilson covers courts, crime and local government issues for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at kathleen.wilson@vcstar.com.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Oxnard man plans appeal after 136-year sentence for sex crimes
