Man sentenced to 142 years to life for sexually abusing two children

March 15, 2023

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

A San Luis Obispo County judge on Wednesday sentenced a San Jose man to more than 142 years to life in prison for molesting two children. 

Marco Antonio Navabarrera, 47, committed the crimes between 2015 and 2019, according to the SLO County District Attorney’s Office. The victims are now 9 and 19 years old. 

Last month, at the conclusion of a four-day trial, jurors convicted Navabarrera of eight counts of sexual abuse, including sexual penetration of a child under the age of 10, committing a lewd act on a child under 14, forcible lewd act on a child under 14 and lewd act on a child aged 14 or 15. The jury also found that Navabarrera committed lewd acts on multiple victims under the age of 14, a special allegation that comes with a sentence of 25 years to life in prison for each eligible offense. 

At Navabarrera’s sentencing hearing on Wednesday, the victims spoke about the impact their abuse had on them. One of the victims discussed growing up with a stolen childhood due to being molested at a young age and over a seven-year period. 

The foster mother of one of the victims said during the hearing that her son would not be Navabarrera’s victim, but rather he would be a victor. 

Judge Craig van Rooyen issued Navabarrera the maximum sentence of 142 years and eight months to life in prison. While issuing the sentence, van Rooyen told Navabarrera, “You are a serial predator, you destroyed the family, you will face the consequences.”

After the sentencing hearing, SLO County District Attorney Dan Dow issued a statement applauding the victims for speaking out. 

“We applaud these young survivors for speaking out and having their voices heard. We hope that their courage to report and testify and the resulting long prison sentence will encourage other victims of all ages in our community to report and seek help from law enforcement,” Dow said. “We will hold child predators accountable and when they are convicted, we will do everything legally possible to remove them from society so that they cannot victimize a vulnerable child ever again.”