On May 6, 2010, Tulare County Superior Court Judge Joseph Kalashian imposed a prison sentence of 16 years on 42-year-old Jose Velasco of Farmersville for lewd acts committed upon a minor. The defendant began assaulting the child when she was approximately 10 years old and stopped when she was 14 years old. The assaults occurred repeatedly throughout each of those years. When Farmersville police contacted the defendant, he stated, “Whatever she said, that’s what happened.”

The defendant pled no contest on April 16, 2010 to 11 counts of lewd acts on a child under the age of 14 and two counts of lewd acts on a child age 14 or 15. The defendant also admitted that the sex crimes involved acts of substantial sexual conduct, including masturbation, penetration, and oral copulation. As a result of the plea, the defendant is now convicted of 11 strike offenses and will be required to serve 85% of that sentence before being eligible for parole. His parole can last up to five years. The defendant was also ordered to pay a $10,000 restitution fine, to register as a sex offender under Penal Code section 290, to submit to an HIV test, and to provide DNA samples under Penal Code section 296.

This case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Bethany M. Gilliland and investigated by the Detective Ralph Vasquez of the Farmersville Police Department.

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