Top 10: Suarez gets 22 years for molestations By SILVIO J. PANTA, Staff Writer
Monday, December 24, 2007 3:37 PM PST
JOSELITO VILLERO FILE PHOTO
Gustavo Suarez, 65, was found guilty of molesting four girls during a two-year period at Rainbow Family Daycare, a longtime business run by his wife, Ofelia.
JOSELITO VILLERO FILE PHOTO
The daughter of Gustavo Suarez (right) reacts to the guilty verdict.
Child molestation cases are always heart-wrenching, and the conviction, and subsequent sentencing, of Gustavo Suarez in October proved no exception.
Suarez, a 65-year-old truck driver who donated a kidney to his adult son while in custody, was sentenced in Imperial County Superior Court in Brawley to 22 years in prison.
The term could keep the El Centro man behind bars for virtually the rest of his life.
Attorneys for Suarez vowed they would appeal the guilty verdict handed down in May.
Suarez was penalized for having molested four girls during a two-year period at the well-known Rainbow Family Daycare, a longtime business run by Suarez’s wife, Ofelia, in their El Centro home.
Suarez remained motionless when Superior Court Judge Donal Donnelly pronounced his sentence, which had been delayed for a week because the October wildfires in San Diego kept both prosecution and defense attorneys away from entering the Imperial Valley.
But a maelstrom of emotion blazed throughout the courtroom the following week when a group of supporters voiced their love for Suarez, a grandfather who they described as a devoted family man.
That loving portrait differed drastically when two mothers spoke out during the hearing with their scathing remarks about Suarez, with one of them calling him “weak and feeble” as he quietly sat beside a courtroom interpreter.
The case dealt a debilitating blow to the families of both the defendant and his victims because of the daycare business’ high profile in El Centro.
Ofelia Suarez trembled before the court and insinuated that her husband’s conviction was borne out of the influence of one of the parents who reportedly has a connection with law enforcement.
Suarez himself stopped short of saying that, but during the packed hearing where he was given a moment to speak, suggested the case was influenced by someone among the plaintiffs.
“I believe there is a basis to this,” he said.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is No. 10 in the top-10 stories of the year as selected by the newsroom staff. See what came in at No. 9 in Sunday’s edition.
" What a shame that your wife was not also convicted. She was well aware of the acts you were involved with. How could she not be when even the children attending this daycare were. You should be ashamed of yourself Ofelia for looking the other way. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?" I say "Hell hath no fury like a MOTHER scorned". May your life be as miserable as my childrens' lives have been three fold. Say goodbye to life as you've known it... "
pituchy wrote on Dec 27, 2007 7:22 AM:
" say hello to your cellie, big bubba "
Sassy wrote on Dec 26, 2007 1:41 PM:
" In my opinion they should have given him more than 22 years for what he did to those girls. So long Suarez, enjoy your prison time. "
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Victims 3 wrote on Dec 27, 2007 4:29 PM: