RivCo man who molested girls receives life imprisonment

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) - A 54-year-old Lake Elsinore man who repeatedly sexually assaulted three girls, then fled to Guatemala after learning he was under investigation, was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

A Riverside jury in March convicted Santos Erasmo Garcia of 22 felony counts, most of which stemmed from aggravated sexual assault of a minor and forcible lewd acts on a child, as well as sentence-enhancing allegations of targeting more than one underage victim in sex crimes.

During a hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice Friday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Timothy Hollenhorst imposed the sentence required under state law.

Court documents said that between September 2010 and April 2017, the defendant molested three girls.  

One of the victims said Garcia forced her to have sex with him and otherwise assaulted her on other occasions -- the first time when she was 8, according to a sheriff's arrest warrant declaration.

The second victim said her first experience with Garcia was when she was 5, and he touched her privates. He also attempted to rape her when she was 7, and a few other times when she was 10 or 11, investigators said.  

The last assault on the two victims happened in March 2017, and in that same year, the first victim contacted the second victim, saying she intended to disclose what Garcia had done, according to the declaration.   

On June 6, 2017, the first victim was interviewed, followed a month later by the other girl, and the third victim not long afterward. The only details available about the third victim was that Garcia touched her chest and privates.

His specific relationship to the children was not detailed in documents.   

"Garcia learned about the accusations and fled to Guatemala,'' sheriff's Sgt. Jeff Reese said later.

In September 2023, law enforcement personnel in Guatemala, working with authorities in Riverside County, tracked down and arrested the defendant without incident. He was then extradited back to the United States.   

He had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.