Richmond Man Who Held Girl As Sex Slave For 15 Years Gets 22-Year Sentence
MARTINEZ (KCBS)— A Richmond man who held a relative as a sex slave for 15 years was sentenced to 22 years in state prison in Contra Costa Superior Court on Tuesday as part of a plea agreement.
52-year-old Raul Ochoa stood behind a dark glass partition in the courtroom Tuesday as the sentence was handed down.
Ochoa pleaded guilty to one count of forced lewd acts on a child and two counts of forcible rape. Contra Costa County Deputy District Attorney Ryan Wagner said multiple counts span the time period that Ochoa's relative was repeatedly raped and physically controlled from 1998 to 2012.
Wagner referred to the parameters of the plea deal as he addressed concerns that the sentence is not long enough.
"How is it that we can balance both holding him accountable and having him serve a lengthy, lengthy prison sentence of 22 years and required to register for life, and also prevent her from having to come to a public courtroom and talk about this and be in front of the person who did these things to her?" said Wagner.
A representative from Victim-Witness Assistance Program read a letter in court by the victim who was 27 years old when she was freed. It read, "She feels tired, sad and anxious, but she will try to stay focused and be strong,"
"She even challenged the defendant while he's sitting in custody to make sure that he learns from what he did and takes time to think about it in an effort to try and change who he is," Wagner said.
Deputy district attorney Ryan Wagner said Ochoa would have to serve 85 percent of his sentence (nearly 19 years) before being considered for parole.
The case has been likened to the case of Jaycee Dugard, who was kidnapped as a girl and held as a sex-slave for 18 years in the backyard of an Antioch home.