SLO jury convicts Santa Maria man of performing lewd acts on an 11-year-old child
Following a weeklong trial, a San Luis Obispo County jury convicted a Santa Maria man of committing a lewd act on a child for a crime that occurred eight years ago.
Jay Vee Batul Estoque, 29, was found guilty Monday of a felony charge of committing a lewd act upon a child under the age of 14, the District Attorney’s Office announced in a news release. The verdict included a sentencing enhancement that Estoque engaged in substantial sexual conduct during the assault.
According to the DA’s Office, Estoque’s crimes occurred between January 2011 and December 2012 in Grover Beach when Estoque was 20 years old and the victim was 11 years old.
The jury also deadlocked on two additional counts of lewd act upon a child for conduct allegedly committed against the same child victim during the same time period.
The crimes were not reported to the Grover Beach Police Department until March of 2018, when the victim was 17 years old, the DA’s Office said.
District Attorney Dan Dow thanked jurors for their efforts “in this sensitive and emotional case.”
“This young survivor demonstrated tremendous courage by reporting the crime after its effects were truly realized,” Dow wrote in the statement. “We are optimistic that this conviction will encourage victims of sexual assault to report the conduct to law enforcement, even when substantial time has passed since the event.”
Dow added: “We stand ready to prosecute these deplorable crimes on behalf our community and to bring about justice for victims of child sexual abuse.”
Following the verdict, Estoque was taken into custody at the San Luis Obispo County Jail.
He faces a maximum of eight years in state prison when he’s sentenced March 4. The DA’s Office will also decide at a hearing Wednesday whether to retry Estoque on the two counts in which the jury deadlocked.
