On Wednesday, 62-year-old Goleta resident Cirilo Martinez was sentenced to 300 years to life in prison after being convicted of more than a dozen counts related to child sexual abuse.
During his trial at the Santa Barbara Superior Court on Sept. 13, a jury convicted Martinez of two counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10 years of age, 10 counts of lewd or lascivious acts on a child under 14 years of age, and a special allegation that he had committed the crimes against multiple victims.
District Attorney John T. Savrnoch reports that the crimes targeted two victims between 2015 and 2019. According to officials, the victims were babysat by Martinez's sister in the same home that he resided in during that time.
Authorities say the defendant used his position to groom and molest the young victims, who were between four and nine years old at the time of abuse.
According to the Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office, the sexual abuse was initially reported after one victim, who was 9 years old at the time, disclosed it during a therapy session.
Detectives with the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department then reportedly conducted an investigation in which they obtained a confession from Martinez.
Officials say the two survivors, now 12 and 14 years old respectively, confronted their abuser during the trial. The survivors' family and a District Attorney Victim Advocate supported them throughout the trial, according to authorities.
The Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office said in a press release on Wednesday that following the sentencing, Martinez "will never have the opportunity to harm another child again."
