Merced Sun-Star
Five hundred eighty-eight years.
That's how much time Ignacio Vargas could be sentenced to spend behind bars following his conviction Wednesday by a Merced County jury on 37 counts of child molestation.
Wearing a blue-striped collared shirt, Vargas remained expressionless as a Spanish interpreter translated the verdicts, which were read aloud by a court clerk. The jury deliberated for about two hours.
Vargas was convicted of sexually abusing an 8-year-old girl from July 2005 until 2007. The trial included heart-rending excerpts of audio interviews with the victim, who described in graphic detail the abuse she suffered at Vargas's hands. He was acquainted with the victim through her mother.
Investigators said much of the abuse happened in rural remote areas of the county, inside his car. Prosecutor David Sandhaus said there was no shortage of evidence pointing to Vargas' guilt, ranging from DNA evidence, testimony from witnesses and the victim's own testimony. In addition, Sandhaus said Vargas himself initially admitted molesting the girl -- but later changed his story.
Sandhaus said Vargas manipulated the girl by using threats and intimidation. "You had a little girl who endured molestation for years and years. She was not going to report it unless the police discovered it because she thought she had to allow the molestation to go on to protect her family," Sandhaus said.
Caleb Hegland, Vargas' attorney, said his client was "devastated" by the verdict, adding that he will review the case to determine whether to file an appeal. In defending Vargas, Hegland said there was no DNA evidence from Vargas found on the victim. He also tried to cast doubt on one of the locations where the abuse occurred, near a California Highway Patrol station. "This is not a location where anyone would take a child for abuse," Hegland said.
Hegland also said his client only admitted the molestation because he was in pain, with his hands cuffed behind his back, and was under the impression that he "would get to go home" if he confessed.
Sandhaus dismissed Hegland's defense as "grasping for straws," saying DNA from the suspect didn't have to be found on the victim to prove there was abuse.
Vargas was arrested last year after a sheriff's deputy on patrol saw Vargas and the victim in a car on a canal bank off Highway 140 east of Moomjean Avenue. The deputy became suspicious of Vargas' vehicle because he believed there was a sexual act taking place. Vargas was also trespassing, Sandhaus said.
Sandhaus played audio excerpts of interviews with the girl, who said she "felt like dying" because of the abuse. The girl also said during an interview with investigators that Vargas threatened to sodomize her 3-year-old brother if she didn't comply with his demands.
She also testified during the trial. The specific details the girl provided of the abuse, Sandhaus said, lent credibility to the allegations against Vargas. "How would a 10-year-old girl know how to describe sodomy, unless this was something that was really going on in her life?" Sandhaus asked.
Some of the most serious charges Vargas faced include felony aggravated sexual assault of a child, sexual intercourse with a child 10 years or younger, penetration with a foreign object and forced oral copulation.
Members of the seven-man, five-woman jury declined comment on the case after the verdicts.
Vargas remains in custody at the John Latorraca Correctional Center. Merced Superior Court Judge Carol Ash scheduled his sentencing for June 5.
Reporter Victor A. Patton can be reached at (209) 385-2431 or vpatton@mercedsun-star.com.
