Jury Finds Former Spokane Indian Reservation Resident Guilty of Child Sexual Abuse Charges
| U.S. Attorney’s Office September 19, 2013 |
SPOKANE—Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that a federal jury sitting in Spokane found Valentin Cardenas Gonzales, age 74, formerly of Ford, Washington, guilty of two charges of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor and two charges of abusive sexual contact with a minor. These criminal charges involved three minor children from the Spokane Indian Reservation.
Following the return of the guilty verdicts, United States District Court Judge Thomas O. Rice scheduled a sentencing hearing for December 4, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. At sentencing, Gonzales faces a mandatory minimum 30 year up to a life term of imprisonment on both of the aggravated sexual abuse of a minor charges and any term of years up to a life term of imprisonment on the abusive sexual contact with a minor charges. Gonzales also faces a minimum five-year up to life term of court supervision following release from Federal prison, up to a $250,000 fine for each charge, and restitution for each of the child victims.
This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Spokane Tribal Police Department. The case was prosecuted by K. Jill Bolton, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.