Crime

Stanislaus County judge sentences repeat sex offender from Merced to 280 years

A 38-year-old Merced man was convicted for the second time of sexually molesting a young girl and sentenced to 280 years to life in prison.

A jury in May convicted Jeffrey Todd Eastman of three counts of lewd acts upon a child under the age of 14, and one count of oral copulation of a child 10 years or younger, according to a press release from the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office.

The release said that during four separate occasions in 2016, Eastman molested a 9-year-old girl when he was a guest at her home in Turlock. A few years later the girl told two of her friends about the molestation, triggering an investigation.

During an interview with Turlock detectives, “Eastman admitted to the oral copulation of a child 10 years or younger,” according to the release.

Eastman had previously been convicted of molesting a 14-year-old girl at a church they both attended. That victim, now an adult, also testified at the trial in May.

“Because Eastman had been previously convicted of two counts of lewd acts on a child, the minimum sentence for each of the current convictions was tripled,” according to the release.

This story was originally published July 7, 2021 at 3:09 PM with the headline "Stanislaus County judge sentences repeat sex offender from Merced to 280 years."

Erin Tracy
The Modesto Bee
Erin Tracy covers criminal justice and breaking news. She began working at the Modesto Bee in 2010 and previously worked at papers in Woodland and Eureka. She is a graduate of Humboldt State University.
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