A Southern California man has been convicted of sexually abusing multiple children over the course of nearly three decades, authorities announced.
Martin Herrejon Vieyra, 58, of Santa Paula, was found guilty on Jan. 12 of eight felony charges, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said two of the victims were abused over extended periods of time. One child was abused between 1996 and 2005, while a second victim was abused from 2012 to 2020. Both victims were under the age of 14 at the time of the offenses.
Authorities said Vieyra had access to the children through a familial relationship, which allowed him to exploit a position of trust.
After the abuse involving the first two victims came to light, a third victim came forward in February 2025. She told investigators that Vieyra raped her in 1991 while he was living in the same home as her family.
The District Attorney’s Office began investigating Vieyra in October 2024. Following the investigation, he was taken into custody and formally charged. A jury later found him guilty of eight felony counts, including rape by force, foreign object penetration, and six counts of lewd acts upon a child.
Jurors also found multiple special allegations and aggravating factors to be true, including that there were multiple victims, that Vieyra abused a position of trust, and that the victims were particularly vulnerable.
“The passage of time does not erase the harm caused by sexual violence, nor does it diminish the responsibility of those who commit it,” said Ventura County Deputy District Attorney Stuart Gardner, who prosecuted the case. “After a full jury trial, the verdict affirms that justice can still be achieved and that survivors deserve to be heard, believed, and protected—no matter how many years have passed.”
Vieyra is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 10 in Ventura County Superior Court. He faces a potential sentence of 110 years to life, plus an additional 16 years in state prison. He remains in custody, and his bail was revoked following the verdict.