Man Sentenced to Prison for Sex Crimes

Angel Medelez, 28, will spend the next six years and eight months in state prison for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old male and a 19-year-old male, the District Attorney’s Office announced last week. Medelez, a Santa Barbara resident, will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and pay restitution to the victims. Both of the teens were inebriated at the time of the abuse and couldn’t consent to Medelez’s actions. A jury, after four weeks of trial, recently found him guilty of four felony sexual assault charges and one related misdemeanor count.

“Sexual assault and child sexual abuse are uniquely horrific crimes,” said prosecutor Chris Horowitz. “They can cause lasting emotional and psychological trauma for the victim and their families. The effects are often devastating.” Continuing, Horowitz said that the department “will continue to rigorously investigate and prosecute individuals who give minors intoxicating substances, especially when this act leads to any type of sexual assault.”