Prosecutors have secured three consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole for a Stockton man convicted of predatory crimes against a young girl, according to a press release from the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office.
Eugenio Reyes was convicted in 2024 in connection with the Christmas abduction and sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl.
Officials say Reyes lured the young victim, whom Reyes didn’t know, into his vehicle near her Stockton home.
“After being transported to his residence and subjected to multiple sexual assaults, the child heroically escaped and fled through an unfamiliar neighborhood until a Good Samaritan intervened and contacted law enforcement,” DA officials said in the news release.
Prosecutors argued that the assaults occurred on “separate occasions” predatory acts under a California penal code that mandates consecutive life sentences without parole for certain aggravated sexual assaults, officials said, particularly those involving kidnapping or multiple acts against a minor.
“This defendant didn’t just steal a child’s innocence, he hunted it on Christmas night,” DA Ron Freitas said in a statement Friday.
Freitas credited Reyes’ conviction to DNA analysis, testimony from a sexual assault nurse examiner who documented the victim’s injuries, and investigative work by Stockton Police Department Detective Richard Keiser.
Prosecution of the case was led by Deputy District Attorney Carrie Lawrence, DA officials said. Jessica Vanover of the Victim Witness Unit, assisted the survivor and her family during the process.
”Because of the survivor’s incredible bravery and the work of DDA Carrie Lawrence, we have ensured this predator’s new home is a prison cell. He will never see another Christmas at home, because he will never leave prison,” Freitas said.