Sentencing delayed in Merced sexual assault case

Sentencing was delayed Monday for a 26-year-old Merced man convicted of sexually attacking seven women over a three-year period.

Yeng Kong Moua was found guilty in April by a Merced Superior Court jury of nearly a dozen charges, including sexual penetration with a foreign object, assault with intent to commit sexual assault and making criminal threats.

Moua briefly appeared in court Monday, but his hearing was postponed to allow the Merced County Probation Department more time to finish a sentencing report.

Thomas Min, the deputy district attorney prosecuting the case, told Judge John D. Kirihara that probation officers needed additional time to prepare their sentencing recommendation.

Kirihara ordered Moua to return to court July 15.

Moua was convicted of attacking seven woman from 2011 to 2014. During the two-week trial in April, all seven testified, recounting the details of each attack.

Officers from the Merced and Atwater police departments and deputies from the Merced County Sheriff’s Office worked together compiling reports, including lead investigator Detective Raquel Rios, which eventually led to Moua’s arrest.

Moua remains in custody without bail in Merced County.

This story was originally published May 23, 2016 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Sentencing delayed in Merced sexual assault case."