A man from Los Banos was sentenced to a total of 40 years to life in prison for forcibly sexually assaulting and sodomizing a underage girl.

In October 2017, Los Banos Police Department responded to the defendant Francisco Montes’s home for a report of sexual assault.

The confidential victim, a 12-year-old girl, had been visiting alone with the defendant who the child affectionately called “uncle.”

The child reported and later testified that the defendant, who was 54-years-old at the time, moved the victim’s clothing to sexually assault and sodomized the victim.

She also stated she fought back, telling the defendant to stop and trying to move her clothes to cover her private areas.

Los Banos Police Department’s quick action preserved crucial DNA evidence and secured the suspect’s confession.

A Merced County jury convicted the defendant of four felonies: aggravated sexual assault of a minor for sodomy, aggravated sexual assault of a minor for oral copulation, and two counts of forcible lewd and lascivious act on a child under 14.

Deputy District Attorney Sara Rosenthal prosecuted the case. On June 24, 2020, Judge Jeanne Schechter sentenced the defendant to 30 years to life and an additional 10 years for a total of 40 years to life in prison.