On July 13, 2009, the Honorable Judge Gerald Sevier imposed a six-year prison sentence on 29-year-old Ralph Grijalva of Visalia. The defendant was convicted of failing to register as a sex offender as required by Penal Code section 290 and violating his felony probation by failing to obey all laws. The defendant had been on felony probation since November of 2004 for a prior rape conviction.

On April 30, 2009, the defendant was arrested on a warrant for a violation of his probation terms and for failure to register as a sex offender, as required, because of his prior rape conviction. The defendant was living/staying in multiple residences and failed to register any of the residences with local law enforcement, as required by law. As a result, a warrant for his arrest was issued.

On June 15, 2009, the defendant pled no contest to his failure to register. He also admitted to having a prior strike conviction pursuant to Penal Code section 1170.12, and admitted that he violated his probationary terms.

This case was prosecuted by DDA Erika Ziegenhorn and investigated by Detective James Kelly of the Tulare Police Department.

Contact Person: Assistant District Attorney Shani Jenkins at (559) 733-6411.