On March 10, 2010, Tulare County Superior Court Judge Gerald Sevier imposed a prison sentence of 30 years, 4 months in prison on 45-year-old Matthew James Heath of Exeter. The defendant engaged in acts of oral copulation, masturbation, and substantial sexual contact with a 6-year-old female family member in Exeter between 2008 and 2009. The defendant also committed an act involving substantial sexual conduct with an unrelated 6-year-old girl, which occurred and was reported in Visalia in 2005. After each crime was reported, the defendant fled the area with the help of family members. Law enforcement apprehended the defendant in Arizona after the second report was filed in 2009.

The defendant also had two unrelated criminal cases. In one case the defendant made criminal threats to a Visalia man in 2005. In the second case the defendant broke into a Visalia residence and stole jewelry in 2005.

Each of the sexual assault charges and the criminal threats charge will serve as strikes on the defendant’s record. The defendant will not be eligible for parole until he serves 85% of his sentence. The defendant was also ordered to pay $9,200 in restitution fines, to register as a sex offender under Penal Code section 290, to submit to AIDS testing under Penal Code section 1202.1, and to provide DNA samples under Penal Code section 296.

The sexual assault case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Bethany M. Gilliland and investigated by Detective Kathy Garcia and Sergeant Duane Cornett of the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department, as well as Investigator Gregg White of the District Attorney’s Office.

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