A Morro Bay man has been convicted of numerous counts of child molestation with multiple victims, the District Attorney announced, and now faces nearly three centuries in prison.
District Attorney Dan Dow announced on Oct. 25 that a jury found Elderjairus Stomtomas Belen, 33 of Morro Bay guilty of 11 felony counts of engaging in sex acts with a child under-14. The jury also found that the crimes involved multiple victims.
According to a news release, between November 2013 and December 2018, “Belen engaged in a series of sex acts with the two survivors beginning when they were under the age of 10. Belen was between the ages of 23 and 28 when he committed the crimes.”
The two victims, who both testified at trial, had the comfort of a special friend to help them face their monsteruous molester.
“Both victims testified at the trial with the support of Edgar, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s courthouse facility dog,” the D.A. said. “The Courthouse Dog Team consists of Edgar and his two handlers — Senior Investigator Tim Murphy and Victim Witness Assistant Director, Jennifer Love.”
The two victims showed courage at trial. “The two young survivors,” D.A. Dow said, “demonstrated remarkable courage by reporting the crimes and testifying in the trial necessary to bring this predator to justice. We are optimistic that this conviction will encourage victims of sexual assault to report the conduct to law enforcement.
“We thank the jury for their focused attention in this very sensitive and emotional case.”
The case was investigated by the Morro Bay Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation. Deputy D.A. Kimberly R. Dittrich of the Sexual Assault Prosecution Team tried the case.
Sentencing for Belen is scheduled for Dec 1 before Judge Barry LaBarbera. According to D.A. Dow, Belen faces a maximum term of 275-years to life in State Prison for his conviction.
He will be required to submit to an AIDS test; and should Belen ever get out of prison, he must register as a convicted sex offender for the rest of his life.
