BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. - District Attorney Mike Ramsey says a Magalia man and two mothers pleaded no contest to physical and sexual abuse charges and felony child abuse charges, respectively, stemming from violence and alleged abuse that occurred inside their home for over a year.
Robert Chavez, 41, pleaded no contest to counts of rape and molestation of the female children of the Magalia women, who were between four and 16 years old. Additionally, Chavez pleaded no contest to a torture charge against one boy. Ramsey says Chavez faces up to 80 years in state prison.
The mothers of the children, Amanda Johnson, 38, and Kelsey Cabrera, 35, both pleaded no contest to our counts each of felony child abuse and one count of dissuading witnesses. Ramsey says the mothers face up to 10 years and eight months in prison each.
Ramsey said the case started when one of the children disclosed information about their living situation in January 2023. Chavez, Johnson and Cabrera lived together in a home on Colter Way in Magalia. Both women had young children living in the home and had a polyamorous relationship with Chavez.
Upon interviewing the child, the DA’s office went to Chavez’s home to arrest him. In their initial search, investigators could not locate Chavez immediately but eventually found him hiding in a crawl space above the garage, Ramsey said.
Chavez was arrested after a lengthy standoff and taken into custody.
Ramsey said multiple interviews were conducted over the following weeks after the arrest, where investigators learned of the extent of the alleged abuse. The DA said multiple cases of sexual abuse were reported during the interviews as well as high levels of physical abuse.
Chavez had physically abused all of the children and had been sexually abusing some of the female children for more than a year, Ramsey said. The abuse occurred so frequently that Ramsey said it was impossible to grasp the extent of the pain and suffering the children endured.
Ramsey said the children recounted being shot by BB guns, whipped and beaten by paddles and punched and kicked across their faces and bodies. He added that the young boy would frequently be tortured in the home to the point of him being unable to stand and one girl would routinely have cigarettes put out on her face.
The DA said that Chavez threatened to harm the children further if they ever reported the abuse.
Ramey commended the courage of the children to come forward and speak up about the abuse, despite the physical and emotional pain suffered, as well as the effort of investigators and prosecutors on the case.
A former girlfriend of Chavez was interviewed during the investigation. The interview revealed that Chavez also abused his girlfriend for several years prior to him moving to Magalia. Ramsey said Chavez strangled the ex-girlfriend and held a curling iron to an intimate section of her body following an argument. The woman was left with permanent scars.
Chavez’s attorney requested that Chavez be released pending sentencing due to difficulties Chavez incurred in jail. The judge declined the request.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 17, 2023, at 1:30 p.m.
Johnson and Cabrera are scheduled to be sentenced on May 24, 2023, at 11 a.m.
All three defendants are being held at Butte County Jail without bail pending sentencing.
Ramsey said the abuse committed by Chavez against the children was one of the worst cases his office has seen in quite a few years.
