Southern California man sentenced to prison for raping his sister

A Southern California man was sentenced to prison Thursday for raping and committing sex crimes against his younger sister.

Stephen Delacruz, 37, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for crimes he committed when he was 14 and 15 against his then 8-year-old sister, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.

In 2019, the victim, identified as Samantha J., walked into the Oxnard Police Department to report the crimes that occurred in 2001 and 2002.

During the incidents, Delacruz isolated Samantha in her Oxnard home and threatened to kill her if she ever reported him, court documents say.

According to authorities, Delacruz often displayed a knife before the sexual assaults.

Initially, charges were filed with the public prosecutor’s office in juvenile court on the grounds that Delacruz was a minor at the time of the incidents.

However, Assistant District Attorney Erik Nasarenko attempted to have the case transferred from juvenile court to adult court, arguing that “the crimes involved considerable sophistication and planning and were particularly violent and serious.”

The juvenile judge agreed and transferred the case. However, in 2022, the state legislature changed the criteria that juvenile judges had to consider when deciding whether to transfer a case to adult court.

“The new criteria require courts to ‘determine by clear and convincing evidence that the minor is not eligible for rehabilitation in the juvenile court,'” officials noted.

This led to a transfer hearing before another judge in Ventura County applied the new criteria and found the case worthy of transfer to adult court, saying the “allegations were horrific.”

Before the case went to trial, Delacruz pleaded guilty to all eight counts, including three counts of rape, three counts of forcible oral sex and two counts of sexual penetration with a foreign object. He also admitted that the victim was under 18 years old.

“Samantha has shown great resilience and determination in her fight for justice and accountability in this case,” Nasarenko said. “Facelifting her brother at today’s sentencing and delivering her victim impact statement took incredible strength and courage.”

Delacruz was sentenced to 30 years in state prison.