01/15/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/15/2026 16:21
(Woodland, CA) - January 15, 2026 On January 9, 2026, the Honorable Paul K. Richardson sentenced West Sacramento resident Enrique Urbina Mendoza, to a 12-year determinate sentence to be followed by an indeterminate sentence of 25 years to Life in state prison for the sexual abuse of multiple child victims that occurred in the County of Yolo.
In 2023, Urbina Mendoza was charged with Penal Code section 288.5, Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child, for multiple victims as well as additional charges related to child sexual abuse. The victims were female family members between the ages of seven and eleven years old. The abuse occurred over decades. The defendant took advantage of his position in the family to groom the victims and subjected them to repeated sexual abuse. The case proceeded to trial in October 2025, where victims testified during the course of a multi-week trial. On October 29, 2025, the jury returned a guilty verdict convicting the defendant of two counts of Penal Code section 288.5 for two victims. The jury further found a number of sentencing enhancements true. One of the sentencing enhancements found true involved the jury finding that the defendant had abused multiple victims of specified offenses pursuant to Penal Code section 667.61.
One victim spoke at sentencing to address the Court and the defendant. The victim related through tears that "That pain will never leave me. His actions violated not only our family's trust, but the most basic responsibility an adult has-to protect children, not harm them. I want the Court to understand that this harm is real and permanent. This was not a momentary lapse in judgment. It caused long-term damage that I, and my family, will carry for the rest of our lives. I stand here today with my head held high, reclaiming the voice that was taken from me as a child. I will no longer be silenced by fear. I speak not out of anger, but out of truth."
"The defendant took advantage of his position of trust within the family to sexually abuse multiple generations of vulnerable children," said District Attorney Jeff Reisig. "We are in awe of the victims' courage to come forward, endure the lengthy criminal justice system process, and testify in front of their abuser."
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