Jury reaches verdict in trial of Clovis man accused of child molestation
A Clovis man was found guilty Tuesday of sexually abusing a young girl from the time she was 4 years old until age 18.
Daniel William Sedano, 57, co-owner of Central Valley Information Security, could spend up 48-years-to-life for his crimes.
Sedano took a deep breath as the verdict was read in Judge Brian Alvarez’s courtroom. After nearly three days of deliberating, Sedano was found guilty of oral copulation of a child 10 years or younger, sexual intercourse with a child 10 years or younger and rape.
Prosecutor Vanessa Leona said she spoke to the victim by phone after the verdict and the woman, who is now 21, was in tears.
“She was happy that her voice was finally heard,” she said. “She also feels a sense of relief that she was able tell people what happened to her. Now hopefully she can start a new part of her life.”
Sedano has denied the allegations, saying the victim exaggerated and was not to be believed. His attorney Jane Boulger said she was “deeply disappointed” in the jury’s verdict and plans to appeal.
Throughout the two-week trial, Leona portrayed Sedano as a someone who carefully groomed the victim by giving her lots of attention, gifts and calling her pet names.
The kindness soon escalated over the years to inappropriate touching, sexual assault and ultimately rape. The victim finally spoke out in her later teens, revealing her secret to her boyfriend, his family and police.
In a recorded phone call set up by detectives, and played for the jury, the victim confronted Sedano about why he sexually abused her all those years. His answered by saying he was sorry and that his “fantasy had spun out of control.”
Boulger tried to convince the jury that Sedano may have been a flawed man, but he wasn’t the monster the prosecution portrayed him to be. She said he suffered through bouts of drug use and post traumatic stress disorder.
Sedano is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 25.
