Amador County, CA…Almost a full year after a jury found Alex Aroz, 32, guilty of five felony counts of child molestation, Judge J. S. Hermanson sentenced Aroz on February 24, 2017 to the maximum possible sentence: 16 years to be served at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

On March 2, 2016, an Amador County jury found Aroz guilty of five felony counts of sexual assault on a 13-year-old girl who was the daughter of Aroz’s live-in girlfriend (names withheld). During the trial, the jury heard that on March 13, 2015, the victim awoke to Aroz sexually assaulting her in her bed; he continued to molest her over the next half hour. Four days later, despite having been told what happened, her mother again left her alone with Aroz and again Aroz molested her. This time, he said to her, “you’re not going to tell anyone, are you?” She locked herself in the bathroom and texted her mother, who raced toward home but was stopped by CHP. Only then—when she had to explain why she was speeding—did the girl’s mother reveal to law enforcement that her boyfriend had molested her daughter. CHP contacted the Amador County Sheriff’s Office, who immediately responded to the residence and contacted the girl. Aroz was arrested.

ACSO investigators interviewed the girl the next day with her mother present, and the girl told Investigators about both incidents in detail. The next day, however, the Sheriff’s Office received a letter signed by the girl—but written by her mother—saying that the sexual assaults did not happen. The girl’s mother then denied any access to the girl by law enforcement despite repeated requests to talk to her about the obviously suspicious letter purporting to recant the allegations. While the trial was pending, the victim and her mother lived with Aroz’s mother while he remained in the county jail.

Aroz was previously convicted of Sexual Battery and Unlawful Sex with a Minor in 2003, and was required to register as a sex offender. Because that conduct was similar to the present case and because the victims were of similar age, the jury heard testimony from his previous victims about sexual assaults he committed against them while he was their youth counselor.

After the trial, sentencing was delayed while the defense spent more than eleven months challenging the verdicts and seeking a new trial. The defense motions were ultimately denied.

District Attorney Todd Riebe praised the Amador County Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol for their quick response and investigation once they learned of the molestation, Deputy District Attorney Gabrielle Stidger for her resilience and tenacity during the proceedings, and Victim Advocate Amy Drake for her tireless efforts on behalf of the victim, despite being denied contact with her by the girl’s mother.