Southern California man pleads guilty to violent sexual assaults on sister

More than 20 years after she was sexually assaulted multiple times by her brother, a woman in Ventura County is getting justice, authorities announced Thursday.

Stephen Delacruz, 37, a resident of San Diego, pleaded guilty to eight felonies, including three counts of forcible rape, three counts of forcible oral copulation and two counts of digital penetration and admitted the special allegation that his victim was under the age of 18, a news release from the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office stated.

The violent assaults occurred in 2001 and 2002, when Delacruz was 14 and 15 years old and his sister, Samantha, was 8 years old.

“Delacruz isolated the victim in their Oxnard house and threatened to kill her if she ever disclosed the crimes, often displaying a knife prior to the sexual assaults,” prosecutors said.

In 2019, Samantha reported the rapes to authorities at the Oxnard Police Department.

Prosecutors in the district attorney’s office worked to get the case moved from the juvenile court system to the adult court system, arguing the crimes involved considerable “sophistication and planning and were especially violent and severe.”

The juvenile court agreed, but in 2022 the California legislature changed the criteria for moving juvenile cases to the adult courts, adding the requirement that courts determine “by clear and convincing evidence that the minor is amenable to rehabilitation” through the juvenile court system.

The victim’s case was subsequently returned to the juvenile court system, causing Samantha to again endure the lengthy legal process.

In 2023, a Ventura County Superior Court Judge found Delacruz fit for transfer to the adult court system, saying the “allegations were horrendous.” After Delacruz appealed, causing yet another delay, the California Court of Appeals in Nov. 2023 ordered the case transferred to the adult courts.

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“Samantha was incredibly brave, courageous and just never gave up,” said District Attorney Erik Nasarenko, who prosecuted the case. “Despite multiple setbacks and delays, she kept fighting for justice and to have her voice heard in court. Because of her determination to see her brother held accountable for these egregious crimes, the legal process did ultimately work.”

In his May 14, 2024, plea agreement, Delacruz waived his right to any further appeals in the case.

The 37-year-old is scheduled to be sentenced in June, where DA Nasarenko, according to the release, intends to ask the judge for a “30-year state prison commitment.”

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