Child Sex Offender Sentenced To State Prison In Sonoma County

Press release from the Sonoma County Government:

May 13, 2021

Santa Rosa, CA – May 13, 2021 – Defendant Benjamin Meza-Perez, 41 years old of Petaluma, was sentenced today to serve 18 years in state prison by the Honorable Dana Simonds following pleas of “no contest” in January of this year to three felony counts of lewd acts with a minor under 14, and one felony count of dissuading a witness.

District Attorney Jill Ravitch stated, “This young victim showed incredible courage in discussing these incidents with law enforcement. The prison sentence is very appropriate.”

The charges resulted from a September 2020 investigation by the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety. The investigation began after a friend of Jane Doe reported to Child Protective Services that she suspected sexual abuse of Jane Doe. During the course of the investigation law enforcement learned that Meza-Perez had been sexually abusing Jane Doe since the age of 11, and that during several incidents Meza-Perez used force upon Jane Doe in order to accomplish the abuse. In a text message, Meza-Perez confessed to the abuse, apologizing to Jane Doe and asking for forgiveness. Meza-Perez went on to beg Jane Doe not to disclose the abuse to law enforcement, and to change any statements she had made about the sexual abuse.

As a result of his plea, Meza- Perez will also be required to register for life as a sex offender for life.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Leslie Butori, assisted by Victim Advocate Elizabeth Garcia. Detective Quinn of Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety headed the investigation.

This press release was produced by the Sonoma County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.