A convicted child molester set free in Los Angeles County three years ago was arrested for sexually abusing two more kids.
Jorge Vasquez, 48, was slapped with eight new counts of child molestation for fondling two young boys in Tulare and San Luis Obispo counties beginning in June 2018 – less than six months after he was released by a judge who said his right to a speedy trial had been violated.
Vasquez had been ordered released after he awaited trial for 17 years – but he failed to register as a sex offender before he was busted again on Sunday, a complaint made public on Tuesday showed.
Richard Ceballos, an LA County deputy prosecutor who thought Vasquez would reoffend, told The Los Angeles Times he was “sick to his stomach” when he heard of the new arrest in Porterville.
“This is every prosecutor’s worst nightmare,” Ceballos said. Vasquez’s original trial was delayed as the defense was transferred to multiple public defenders in an allegedly short-staffed office, the Times said.
“I did talk to one of the deputy public defenders about the case, and they have equal frustrations with their higher-ups too,” Ceballos reportedly said.
“They were constantly asking for assistance, and no one was getting it. No one was placing a high priority on these cases.”
Vasquez pleaded no contest to molesting four boys in 1994 after he lured them into an alley promising candy, the Times said. He engaged in forced oral sex with the kids, aged 6 to 8, the Times said, citing court records.
He was sentenced to 12 years but in 2000, prosecutors looked to have him committed indefinitely under the state’s Sexually Violent Predator Act, the report said.
Five public defenders handled the case, each asking for a delay but Superior Court Judge James Bianco agreed to dismiss the case because of the lengthy delay. Vasquez could face life in prison because the new charges include special allegations with multiple victims and previous incidents, The Associated Press said.
