A 33-year-old man from Oxnard has been convicted by a jury on three felony counts of lewd acts with a child, as well as the special allegation that he took advantage of a position trust to commit the offenses when the victim was particularly vulnerable, authorities announced Monday.
Victor Villanueva Legaria began abusing the victim when she was just 11 years old, according to testimony presented during the trial. At that time, the 33-year-old shared a home with the juvenile victim and abused her multiple times between 2016 and 2020.
In 2020, the victim told a family member about the abuse, who then reported it to the Oxnard Police Department, a news release from the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office stated. Detectives with Oxnard PD’s Family Protection Unit investigated the crimes.
“By its very nature, the sexual abuse of a child always occurs in secret,” Deputy District D.A. Twyla Atmore, who prosecuted the case, said. “Thanks to the bravery of one young woman, her abuser was brought to out of the dark to face justice.”
Legaria was convicted on two felony counts of lewd acts on a child under the age of 14 and one felony count of lewd acts on a child aged 14 or 15 on July 20, 2023.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in Ventura County Court on Aug. 21.