On February 1, 2010, a jury found 24-year-old Abel Aguirre, of Visalia, guilty of raping a 17-year-old girl on her way to a friend’s house. The jury also found true that the defendant was a habitual sexual offender with a prior sexual offense alleged as a strike and a prior serious offense for which he served a prison sentence. After the jury trial, in a bifurcated bench trial, the Honorable Judge Lloyd Hicks found the attached special allegations true.

On August 23, 2008 in the city of Visalia, the defendant began following the victim who was walking down a city street. The defendant punched the victim and pushed her into some bushes, where he raped her. The defendant then told the victim he was sorry and ran off into the night. At the time of the assault, the defendant was living across the street from an elementary school. The defendant was located by law enforcement in the state of Washington.

The defendant was a convicted felon who failed to register as a convicted sex offender, as required by law. The jury also heard from the prior sexual assault victim of the defendant, who was assaulted by him in August of 2004 when she was just 12 years old. That crime also occurred in the Visalia area.

The defendant now faces a sentence of 56 years to life. He is expected to be sentenced on March 5, 2010 in Department 10 of the Visalia Courthouse.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Mikki Verissimo. The case was initially investigated by Visalia Police Detective Steve Howerton. It was further investigated by the DA Investigator Barry Silva. The Honorable Judge Lloyd Hicks presided over the case.
 

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