Jose Diaz (47) found guilty of committing Lewd Act Upon a Child and Child Molestation
Author: District Attorney's Office
Date:
9/25/2018 8:17:58 AM
On Monday, September 24, 2018, a San Luis Obispo County jury found Jose Luis Diaz (DOB 09/06/1971) guilty of two counts of Committing a Lewd Act on a Child and one count of Child Molesting. The verdict was delivered after a two-week trial and 2 hours of deliberation.
On Monday, September 24, 2018, a San Luis Obispo County jury found Jose Luis Diaz (47) guilty of two felony counts of Committing a Lewd Act on a Child Under the Age of 14 in violation of Penal Code section 288(a) and one misdemeanor count of Child Molesting in violation of Penal Code section 647.6(a)(1). The verdict was reached after a two-week trial and 2 hours of deliberations. A sentencing hearing is set for October 30, 2018, at 8:30 a.m. in Department 10 of the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court, the Honorable Judge Jesse Marino presiding.
The initial investigation revealed that in December of 2016, Diaz was staying at a residence occupied by the then 7-year-old victim and other family members. While the minor victim’s mother was at work, Diaz took the victim and her cousin to a nearby store and touched her inappropriately. The crime was reported to the City of Grover Beach Police Department the same day. It was later learned that Diaz had touched the victim in a similar manner the day prior while the family attended the Vine Street Parade in Paso Robles.
Evidence of a prior uncharged incident of child molestation of a different victim was presented and considered by the jury.
"Crimes against children are particularly heinous and our office stands ready to aggressively prosecute such offenses to the best of our ability. We are proud of this young victim’s courage in coming forward and reporting this crime. We thank the jury for their focused attention in hearing this startling case and are optimistic that the verdict will bring some level of justice to the young victim and her family," said District Attorney Dan Dow.
The case was investigated by the City of Grover Beach Police Department, with the assistance of the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation, and was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Chase W. Martin.
Please direct any press inquiries to Assistant District Attorney Eric J. Dobroth at 805.781.5800.