San Martin
– A 47-year-old Pebble Beach man will serve four months in Santa
Clara County jail and three years on formal probation for sexually
molesting a 15-year-old Gilroy boy.
San Martin – A 47-year-old Pebble Beach man will serve four months in Santa Clara County jail and three years on formal probation for sexually molesting a 15-year-old Gilroy boy.
Randy Domras saw his felony charge reduced to a misdemeanor at his sentencing Friday, nearly four months after he pleaded no contest to committing a lewd act with someone under 16.
Domras’ private attorney, Mark Blair, argued that the boy claimed to be 18, the legal age of consent for sexual activity, but Superior Court Judge Kenneth Shapero said this is not an acceptable defense for such a charge – although it can be grounds for a reduced sentence.
Knowing this, Domras chose not to dispute that on March 8, he drove to Gilroy, picked up a Gilroy High School student he had met in an Internet chat room, took that boy to a hilly spot near the northwest city limit and engaged in amorous activity that included, in the words of the state Penal Code, a “lewd or lascivious act … with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions, or sexual desires of that person or the child.”
When Gilroy police officer Brian Dutton broke up the heavy petting session at 6:30 that evening, he said Domras was scrambling to put on his shirt and had the fly of his pants undone. Both front seats of Domras’ 1987 BMW were fully reclined, and the windows were steamed up, Dutton said.
The four-month jail term – minus 13 days’ credit for time served – was what Blair had requested. Shapero said he will recommend Domras for work furlough when he begins his jail term in October, which would mean Domras must spend his nights in jail but may leave during the day to go to work.
Domras will have to register as a sex offender when he completes his jail term. Shapero also ordered that he have no contact with the victim and that he never again work, volunteer or live with anyone under the age of 18.
“I think he’s pretty well been put on notice,” Shapero said.
Blair said after the hearing that his client has learned a hard lesson.
“The sheer process of going through the criminal process was very instructive,” Blair said.
Domras wore a long face and was silent throughout Friday’s hearing and afterward. He was neatly dressed in a white turtleneck, beige jacket and brown pants, and his hair was cut shorter since his arrest. He has been free from jail since mid-March, when he posted $75,000 bail.
The victim was not in court, and Blair said Domras did not want to subject the boy to any more humiliation.
“We wish him no ill-will,” Blair said.
The boy changed his story considerably between two police interviews, but in both accounts he said Domras fondled him and pinned him to the passenger seat with his body and hands.
In April, however, the boy reportedly told Blair’s defense investigator that he had lied to police and that Domras never did anything except kiss him.
Domras initially told police he only hugged the boy.
Deputy District Attorney Sam Liccardo said the boy was uncooperative and did not return the DA’s requests for interviews. County probation officer Stephen Sun said the same.
“I would have liked to have heard from the victim,” Liccardo said after Friday’s hearing.
Blair showed the court printouts of Internet ads he said the boy placed on Web sites for roller coaster enthusiasts. These ads, which showed the boy’s picture and a false name, portrayed the boy as an 18-year-old high school graduate who worked full-time and drank alcohol socially.
“(Domras) was trying to do the right thing, trying to meet someone 18 or older,” Blair said. “These sites do not allow minors on them.”
Liccardo, however, said, “It seems like people who are hunting on the Internet for people to have relations with should know that there are a lot of kids on the Internet.”
Pointing to the boy’s picture on the ad, Liccardo said, “This is a kid.”
According to court records, the boy told police Domras began sending him instant messages shortly after they met. The boy said some of these contained sexual content and that Domras propositioned him sexually the night before their encounter. He said he couldn’t remember whether he sent sexual responses back to Domras.
Peter Crowley 8/16/04 could cut here, or anytime later
The boy said he was bored on March 8, so he sent Domras a message from his cell phone that read “Hi.” Domras responded, “Where have you been?”
The boy told police he asked Domras for money to buy a compact disc, so Domras met him at the Safeway supermarket on First Street and gave him $17 cash. The boy said he did not intend the money as a price for sex. He said he thought Domras would drive him to Best Buy so he could purchase the CD, but instead the man drove him to a secluded spot and began to fondle him.
The area where officer Dutton found them, near Sunflower Circle and Strawberry Lane, is a site of frequent “suspicious vehicle and drug activity,” Dutton wrote in his report.
Domras initially gave police a false address, a Salinas home where he used to live. Police said they obtained a search warrant and went to the home, but the resident told them Domras did not live there.
It was only after police returned that Domras gave them his Pebble Beach address and, under threat of another search warrant, signed a form allowing police to seize his home computers.
The district’s attorney’s forensics lab was to search these computers but never reported any findings to the court. Blair on Friday asked Shapero to order the computers returned.
