Merced man guilty of sexually abusing two girls, ages 8 and 9

A 56-year-old Merced man has been convicted of sexually abusing two young girls repeatedly.

Daniel O. Hamilton was convicted Wednesday by a Merced Superior Court jury following an eight-day trial before Judge Ronald W. Hansen.

Hamilton sexually abused two girls over about a four-year period, beginning when the girls were about 8 and 9 years old, respectively, the Merced County District Attorney’s Office said.

Hamilton had pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors said Hamilton was related to the two victims and “had access” to them as a relative. Katie Gates, the deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case, said the abuse began in 2011 and continued until the parents of the victims learned of the abuse in 2015. One of the victims “disclosed” the abuse to a parent in 2015 and the parent notified police. Shortly after the first victim spoke to her family, the second victim came forward, prosecutors said.

Both girls testified at the trial, as did a 15-year-old boy who’d “noticed something suspicious” a couple of years earlier but wasn’t sure of what he saw until the allegations came to light. Part of the evidence against Hamilton included a recorded telephone conversation between the teenage boy and the defendant.

“During that pretext phone call, (Hamilton) did not deny it,” Gates said. She did not want to comment on specific relationships between the girls, the teenage boy and Hamilton to protect the identities of the victims.

Prosecutors also presented testimony from a nurse who medically examined one of the victims.

Hamilton’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Michael Coughlin, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

“This trial required the two young victims testify in court in front of the defendant,” Gates said. “I do hope the jury’s verdict brings them some measure of comfort.”

Gates praised the Merced Police Department investigation led by Detective Raquel Rios.

“These cases are extremely difficult to investigate because usually there’s no corroborating evidence, but she was successful in obtaining the pretext call and the nurse’s examination gave us very solid evidence to present to the jury,” Gates said. “I do also want to say that we appreciate the jurors who had to listen and consider some very difficult facts, information that is difficult to think about.”

Rios said she was pleased with the verdict and said it was a “great satisfaction that he will never have access to another child.”

The detective also praised the girls, now are in their teens, for the bravery they showed testifying.

“Both young teens demonstrated more strength and courage than most adults could have ever shown,” Rios said. “From the beginning of the investigation through their court testimony, the tears that flowed down their faces and the bravery they displayed were indescribable.”

Hamilton, who remains in custody at the Merced County Jail on $3 million bail, faces a potential life sentence without the possibility of parole due, at least in part, to a prior violent sex crime conviction from 1990.

Prosecutors said Hamilton pleaded no contest to a felony count of sodomy by force and served about four years of a nine-year term before he was paroled in 1994.

Hamilton is due back in court for sentencing Feb. 22.

This story was originally published January 19, 2017 at 5:46 PM with the headline "Merced man guilty of sexually abusing two girls, ages 8 and 9."