Comfort dog Aloha assisted the girl in court
(Woodland, CA) – District Attorney Jeff Reisig announced that on June 29, 2015, a Yolo County Jury convicted Manuel Alejandro Guzman, age 32, of Winters, of two counts of child molestation on an 11-year-old girl. The Jury convicted Guzman, who was dating the girl’s mother, of touching the girl’s private parts and making her touch his private parts. The molestation came to light when the girl’s mother found emails between Guzman and the girl discussing some of the things he was doing to her. Detective Brian Young of the Yolo County Sheriff’s Department investigated the crimes. During trial, one of Guzman’s former girlfriends came forward and testified that he raped her when she was just 18 years old.
Supervising Deputy District Attorney Michelle Serafin, who prosecuted the case, commended the courage of both victims in coming to court and testifying against the man who stole their innocence. Aloha, the Victim Services courthouse dog, assisted the young girl throughout the trial making her feel more comfortable through this horrible experience.
The jury trial was presided over by the Honorable Paul K. Richardson, Judge of the Yolo County Superior Court. Guzman faces 10 years in state prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 12, 2015 at 8:30 p.m. in Dept. 1.
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