A man convicted by an El Cajon jury of molesting five of his nieces over the course of several years was sentenced Friday to 102 years to life in state prison.
Joaquin Ruiz, 45, was found guilty in August of 18 counts related to sex acts upon children, as well as possession of child sex abuse material.
Prosecutors said the victims were between the ages of 5 and 16 and that, in addition to physical abuse, Ruiz also placed hidden cameras in his bathrooms to capture videos of the victims.
According to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, the initial allegations against Ruiz were recanted by the victim after her parents and Ruiz’s wife did not believe her due to Ruiz’s reputation within the family as a devoutly religious person.
However, another niece also accused Ruiz, leading to a public confrontation between Ruiz and the girl’s mother and sister, which prompted police to respond to the scene and then investigate the allegations, the D.A.’s Office stated.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a statement, “Predators who steal the innocence of a child, creating a lifetime of trauma, have no place in our society. Today’s sentence is a message to sexual abusers that you will be held to account, and you will not hide in the shadows, no matter what your affiliations are.”
–City News Service
