San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said today that Brittney Lyon, 31, has been sentenced to life in prison for her role in procuring at least four young girls for her boyfriend Samuel Cabrera to molest, and for participating in the disturbing abuse with him. Two girls were 7 and the others were just 3 years of age. Two had an autism diagnosis, one was non-verbal.
Lyon was sentenced today to 100 years-to-life in prison after pleading guilty in May to two felony counts of lewd act upon a child and two counts of forcible lewd act upon a child. She also admitted the allegations of kidnapping, residential burglary and to sexually assaulting multiple victims. Her co-defendant, Cabrera, was previously convicted by a jury in 2019 and sentenced to eight life terms without parole in 2021.
“Today’s just sentence ends a despicable chapter that has destroyed innocence and devastated families in San Diego County,” DA Stephan said. “This defendant was ruthless in posing as a trustworthy babysitter and recruiting autistic children, only to commit the most atrocious acts upon them.”
The abuse came to light when one of the 7-year-old girls told her mother in 2016 that she no longer wanted to go anywhere with Lyon, a family friend who sometimes babysat her. The girls told her mother about the abuse, which led police to Cabrera. After a brief chase, police found a double-locked box in his car containing six computer hard drives with hundreds of videos depicting Lyon and Cabrera sexually abusing the children, and at times, drugging or assaulting them, using extreme cruelty and brutality. In addition to the videos of the young victims, there were dozens of videos that Lyon had taken surreptitiously of women and girls in changing rooms at clothing stores, bathrooms and locker rooms at various North County businesses.
With other unknown victims on the tapes, police sought assistance from the public looking for parents who hired Lyon, a San Marcos resident who had advertised her services on a babysitting website. The three remaining victims had connected with Lyon from the website where she specifically touted her interest in working with special needs children.
Communications between Lyon and Cabrera showed they regularly coordinated access to the children for abuse by Lyon bringing the children to Cabrera’s home or by Lyon allowing Cabrera to access the children in their own homes or Lyon’s home. She also sexually assaulted the children with Cabrera and alone. Lyon would obtain drugs and other items used to abuse the children.
Although Lyon has been sentenced to more than 100 years-to-life in prison, she will be eligible under current elder parole laws to begin petitioning the court for parole at age 50 and if granted, will have only served approximately 28 years, a fraction of the life sentence handed down by the court.
To address situations like this, the District Attorney’s Office is a sponsor of Senate Bill 286, authored by State Senator Brian Jones, which would exclude convicted sex offenders from applying for elderly parole. The proposed legislation is currently sitting in the suspense file in the Senate Appropriations Committee and most likely will not make it to a floor vote this legislative session.
“After the horrific sexual crimes Brittney Lyon committed against children, District Attorney Summer Stephan did her job in securing a just sentence of 100 years-to-life,” said Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones. “Now, it’s time for the state to do its job and honor that sentence for the sake of the victims. Shamefully, a loophole in California law could allow Lyon to walk free after serving less than a third of her sentence. Senate Bill 286 would close that loophole and ensure violent child rapists serve their full sentences. I’m calling on my Democrat colleagues to stop protecting predators, move this important bill forward, and deliver justice for victims.”
Assembly Bill 47, a similar bill that’s also supported by the District Attorney’s Office, authored by Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen, also seeks to prevent sex offenders from qualifying for early parole under the elder parole law. It too, is in limbo in the Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file.
“Our goal in supporting these bills is to safeguard the just sentences that violent sex offenders and murderers are given by the courts after they committed some of the most heinous offenses and stop them from being released back into the community with plenty of opportunity to reoffend,” DA Stephan said. “The victims, their families and the safety of all children in California need to be the priority, not Ms. Lyon and other violent child molesters like her. The age of 50 is hardly ’elderly,’ particularly is the realm of child molesters, who need only be in a position of trust and power to access and sexually abuse children.”
San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond has will introduce a board letter in support of SB 286 and AB 47 on August 26, seeking wider support from his colleagues on the Board.
“This is a critical step in protecting the safety of our communities, particularly our most vulnerable populations,” Supervisor Desmond said. “By excluding violent sex offenders and murderers from the Elderly Parole Program, these bills ensures that those who have committed heinous crimes will not be prematurely released. Public safety must always be our top priority, and it’s vital that we safeguard victims, especially those who have already suffered immeasurable harm. Allowing individuals convicted of violent sex offenses to be considered for early release undermines the trust and security of the public, and we cannot allow that to happen.”
Deputy District Attorney Jodi Breton in the DA’s Family Protection Division prosecuted this case.
