CLEARLAKE — A Clearlake man was sentenced to six years in prison for committing a lewd or lascivious act with a child under the age of 14.
According to a press release by the District Attorney”s office, on Nov. 25 Officer Dominic Ramirez of the Clearlake Police Department was dispatched to investigate the allegations and after interviewing key witnesses, arrested Gustavo Sandoval-Mendoza, 39, of Clearlake. The victim, age 10, was a relative of the defendant.
Honorable Judge Stephen Hedstrom determined that Sandoval-Mendoza was not a candidate for probation and instead imposed a six-year prison sentence. Because this violation is considered a “Violent strike,” Sandoval-Mendoza will be required to serve a minimum of 85 percent of his six year sentence and according to law, Sandoval-Mendoza will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life upon release.
For more than 50 years, California has required sex offenders to register with their local law enforcement agencies. However, information on the whereabouts of these sex offenders was not available to the public until the implementation of the Child Molester Identification Line in July 1995. The information available was further expanded by California”s Megan”s Law in 1996.
Megan”s Law provides the public with certain information on the whereabouts of sex offenders so that members of our local communities may protect themselves and their children.
Megan”s Law is named after seven-year-old Megan Kanka, a New Jersey girl who was raped and killed by a known child molester who had moved across the street from the family without their knowledge. In the wake of the tragedy, the Kankas sought to have local communities warned about sex offenders in the area. All states now have a form of Megan”s Law. The law is not intended to punish the offender and specifically prohibits using the information to harass or commit any crime against an offender.
The Megan”s Law Web site is www.meganslaw.ca.gov.
Contact Rene Morales at rmorales@record-bee.com
