Tag Archive for: child molester

Child Molester Sentenced to Prison for Crimes Against Multiple Victims

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced today a Chula Vista man has been sentenced to 25 years-to-life in prison for molesting young girls and possessing a mountain of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Antonio O. Medina Jr., 33, was convicted by pleading guilty to three felony counts of lewd acts on a child and one count of possessing CSAM. The San Diego County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), which includes law enforcement officers, DA prosecutors and investigators, are experts in retrieving and dissecting digital evidence. Their work led the arrest, prosecution and sentencing of the defendant.

“This child predator’s reign of terror has come to an end, and he will spend the next 20 years in prison for his horrific crimes of harming girls as young as 4-years-old.” DA Stephan said. “Child molesters, who are often trusted people within families, harm children in the worst way, stealing their innocence and causing years of trauma and pain. They usually don’t stop until they are discovered and stopped by law enforcement. We want victims of child molestation and their families to know that coming forward and reporting allows justice to prevail and stops these predators from hurting any other child.”

While Medina was being prosecuted for possessing more than 1,000 videos of child sexual abuse material, investigators also uncovered an old laptop that contained videos the defendant made of himself molesting young girls. The videos were taken between 2011 and 2015 and were of nine different girls between the ages of 4 and 9. The identities of the victims and locations of the assaults were initially unknown. After almost a year of investigation, and with the assistance of law enforcement in Kern County and Bakersfield, California, San Antonio, Texas, and San Diego’s ICAC Task Force, investigators were able to identify some of the victims and prove that the jurisdiction of the crimes allowed San Diego to prosecute them.

Some victims remain unidentified, and prosecutors expressed hope that they seek trauma and other supportive services for the crimes committed on them. Child sexual abuse can affect a victim forever. Victims suffer higher rates of school difficulty, depression, substance abuse, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, eating or sleeping disorders, and suicide. For more information on spotting red flags of abuse, click here.

This case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Andrew Hart who is a specialized child abuse and child sexual abuse material prosecutor.

Child Molester Who Fled to Asia Sentenced in Sex Abuse Case

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced today that a 73-year-old man who molested a 5-year-old victim at a church on the University of San Diego campus has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Chester Yang, who was extradited from Singapore with the help of Interpol and U.S. federal authorities, pleaded guilty in September to forcible lewd acts upon a child and admitted to his prior strike offense. He had previously been ordered to stand trial.

“Chester Yang has been held accountable for his crimes, despite fleeing almost 7,000 miles away,” DA Stephan said. “We will not stop pursuing justice, especially where it comes to those who sexually abuse children and this case demonstrated our commitment to reach out as far as Asia to stop them. Bringing justice took the unified efforts by an international and local team that assembled to bring this predator to justice including, the U.S. Marshals Service, Interpol, the San Diego Police Department’s Child Abuse Unit, and our own Deputy District Attorney Melissa Diaz and a team of District Attorney investigators.”

The day after Yang’s family was contacted by police, he fled to Taiwan, which would not extradite him back to San Diego. The U.S. Marshals service was instrumental in developing a relationship with Taiwanese authorities and ultimately getting them to alert the U.S. if Yang left Taiwan. In late May, Interpol alerted U.S. authorities that Yang flew to Singapore and Deputy U.S. Marshal Todd Loveless and the District Attorney’s Office quickly made arrangements to have Yang extradited to San Diego.

The District Attorney’s Office has a dedicated Extraditions Unit that brings fugitives from abroad or from other states to face criminal prosecution in San Diego and seeks justice for crime victims. International extradition is complex and varies from nation to nation with very specific legal requirements involving multiple agencies.

This case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Melissa Diaz, the Chief of the DA’s Family Protection Division.