By Pavan Potti
SACRAMENTO – A man found guilty by a jury of child sexual assault and indecent exposure was sentenced to eight years and eight months in state prison Friday by Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Michael A. Savage.
However, this wasn’t the first time James Nelson stood in court for such behavior. He had previously been convicted on four separate incidents with four different victims for indecent exposure stemming from 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.
The particular case occurred in 2017, when the defendant was staying at the victim’s house; he was dating the victim’s mother at the time.
During this stay, the defendant went on to approach the victim in her bedroom wearing nothing but a robe and exposing his genitals to her. He went on to sexually assault the victim, who was only 11 years old at the time.
Reading a statement given by the victim’s mother to the court, Assistant Public Defender Dinah Mielke stated that the victim had changed significantly after the incident.
According to the victim’s mother, the victim became afraid of men and this started to reflect through her behavior at school. The defendant had introduced her to sexual curiosity and she started to get her sense of worth from men’s attention only.
Additionally, the victim has continued to pursue casual relationships with older men due to being exposed to sexual activity at a very young age. The mother faces resentment from the victim to this day for being the one who brought the defendant into her life.
After Mielke finished reading the letter, Judge Savage stated that the defendant has proved time and again that he doesn’t have the ability to control his urges. “If we let him out, there will be another victim. The only question is when,” said Savage.
Because the defendant was ineligible for probation, the judge went on to sentence Nelson to eight years and eight months in prison. He also ordered that any money which Nelson had the capacity to give must be given to the victim as restitution.
Judge Savage concluded by telling the defendant that he will be on parole for four years after finishing incarceration, a violation of which will lead to 180 days in custody.
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