https://www.modbee.com/news/local/crime/article235307892.html
modbee.com
Modesto karate instructor sentenced for sexually abusing several of his students
8-10 minutes
A Stanislaus County judge on Monday sentenced a Modesto karate instructor to 29 years and eight months in prison for sexually abusing several of his students.
Carlos Silva Loya, 53, was the owner and master instructor of Kempo Karate School when he was arrested in August 2016. He has been in jail since then.
Superior Court Judge Thomas Zeff also ordered Loya to stay 100 yards away from the eight boys he sexually abused and not try to communicate with them. Loya also must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
One boy, identified in court as John Doe 1, was the first to allege Loya had sexually abused him. During a police interrogation, Loya confessed to having a sexual relationship with John Doe 1, according to testimony from Detective Sean Dodge.
At a March 2017 preliminary hearing, Dodge testified that Loya admitted to having sex with the boy five times and was willing to write a letter of apology. After The Modesto Bee reported Loya’s arrest, Dodge said, several other boys reported that Loya abused them, as well.
Karate School.JPG
FILE PHOTO -- Kempo Karate School, the Winmoore Way karate studio owned and operated by Carlos Loya in south Modesto, California, was closed Thursday Aug. 18, 2018. Deke Farrow [email protected]
Loya and the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office agreed to a plea deal. He was supposed to be sentenced about five months ago, but the defendant wanted to withdraw his no contest plea.
Prosecutors charged Loya with 29 felony counts of sexual abuse based on allegations from boys at his school. On March 26, Loya pleaded no contest to seven counts of committing lewd and lascivious acts with a child and one count of committing sodomy by force on a child younger than 14 years old. The rest of the charges were dropped.
Earlier this month, Loya testified that he felt forced to agree to the plea deal, because going to trial would draw news media attention.
Ben Jacob, Loya’s attorney, represented the defendant in plea deal negotiations with prosecutors. Loya hired a new attorney, Lewis Wentz, to help him conduct research and file the motion to withdraw his plea.
Wentz hired Francisco Gomez, a forensic and clinical psychologist, who interviewed Loya and determined that the defendant has some symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from sexual abuse he suffered as a child.
The psychologist testified that Loya was vulnerable while deciding whether to agree to a plea deal, because his anxiety and depression could lead him to choose the quickest way out of a situation.
Wentz told the judge that it would be difficult for Loya to make an informed decision about a plea deal, because such a “huge, gigantic life decision” would have triggered the symptoms of his stress disorder.
“I want to make sure that Mr. Loya feels that he’s been treated fairly,” Wentz said in court.
Deputy District Attorney Erin Schwartz told the judge that most defendants would feel duress when having to decide whether to agree to a plea deal. The prosecutor argued that they spent months discussing a potential plea deal with Loya’s attorney, and it wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment offer.
Carlos Loy_fitted.jpeg
Carlos Silva Loya Modesto Police Department
Judge Zeff agreed that a lot of defendants are under pressure when entering a plea resulting in a conviction, and Loya was facing more time in prison had a trial jury convicted him. He said the psychologist testified that Loya was vulnerable, but not that he was compromised.
Zeff also said he didn’t believe some aspects of Loya’s testimony, including that police detectives told Loya what to write in the apology letter. The judge then denied Loya’s request to withdraw his plea.
modbee.com
Modesto karate instructor sentenced for sexually abusing several of his students
8-10 minutes
A Stanislaus County judge on Monday sentenced a Modesto karate instructor to 29 years and eight months in prison for sexually abusing several of his students.
Carlos Silva Loya, 53, was the owner and master instructor of Kempo Karate School when he was arrested in August 2016. He has been in jail since then.
Superior Court Judge Thomas Zeff also ordered Loya to stay 100 yards away from the eight boys he sexually abused and not try to communicate with them. Loya also must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
One boy, identified in court as John Doe 1, was the first to allege Loya had sexually abused him. During a police interrogation, Loya confessed to having a sexual relationship with John Doe 1, according to testimony from Detective Sean Dodge.
At a March 2017 preliminary hearing, Dodge testified that Loya admitted to having sex with the boy five times and was willing to write a letter of apology. After The Modesto Bee reported Loya’s arrest, Dodge said, several other boys reported that Loya abused them, as well.
Karate School.JPG
FILE PHOTO -- Kempo Karate School, the Winmoore Way karate studio owned and operated by Carlos Loya in south Modesto, California, was closed Thursday Aug. 18, 2018. Deke Farrow [email protected]
Loya and the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office agreed to a plea deal. He was supposed to be sentenced about five months ago, but the defendant wanted to withdraw his no contest plea.
Prosecutors charged Loya with 29 felony counts of sexual abuse based on allegations from boys at his school. On March 26, Loya pleaded no contest to seven counts of committing lewd and lascivious acts with a child and one count of committing sodomy by force on a child younger than 14 years old. The rest of the charges were dropped.
Earlier this month, Loya testified that he felt forced to agree to the plea deal, because going to trial would draw news media attention.
Ben Jacob, Loya’s attorney, represented the defendant in plea deal negotiations with prosecutors. Loya hired a new attorney, Lewis Wentz, to help him conduct research and file the motion to withdraw his plea.
Wentz hired Francisco Gomez, a forensic and clinical psychologist, who interviewed Loya and determined that the defendant has some symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from sexual abuse he suffered as a child.
The psychologist testified that Loya was vulnerable while deciding whether to agree to a plea deal, because his anxiety and depression could lead him to choose the quickest way out of a situation.
Wentz told the judge that it would be difficult for Loya to make an informed decision about a plea deal, because such a “huge, gigantic life decision” would have triggered the symptoms of his stress disorder.
“I want to make sure that Mr. Loya feels that he’s been treated fairly,” Wentz said in court.
Deputy District Attorney Erin Schwartz told the judge that most defendants would feel duress when having to decide whether to agree to a plea deal. The prosecutor argued that they spent months discussing a potential plea deal with Loya’s attorney, and it wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment offer.
Carlos Loy_fitted.jpeg
Carlos Silva Loya Modesto Police Department
Judge Zeff agreed that a lot of defendants are under pressure when entering a plea resulting in a conviction, and Loya was facing more time in prison had a trial jury convicted him. He said the psychologist testified that Loya was vulnerable, but not that he was compromised.
Zeff also said he didn’t believe some aspects of Loya’s testimony, including that police detectives told Loya what to write in the apology letter. The judge then denied Loya’s request to withdraw his plea.
https://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/article96543322.html
mercedsunstar.com
Karate instructor accused of molestation has prior sex conviction
Deke Farrow
6-8 minutes
The Winmoore Way karate studio owned and operated by Carlos Loya in south Modesto was closed Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016. Loya is accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy.
The Winmoore Way karate studio owned and operated by Carlos Loya in south Modesto was closed Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016. Loya is accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy. [email protected]
A Modesto karate instructor who was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of child molestation is a registered sex offender stemming from a conviction about 25 years ago, police reported.
Carlos Silva Loya does not show up on the Megan’s Law search, however, because his conviction was for a lesser offense, sexual battery, said Modesto Police Department spokeswoman Heather Graves. Investigators do not know whether the crime – which occurred outside Stanislaus County – involved a minor.
“We don’t have any case details; just an approximate time frame and what the conviction was,” Graves said.
Information on what restrictions Loya’s sex-offender status might put on working with children was not available Thursday afternoon.
Police say Loya sexually abused a 14-year-old boy in Loya’s home for almost a year. Detectives with the department’s Special Victims Unit launched an investigation last week after receiving information that Loya, 50, had molested the former karate student nearly three years ago, police said.
“It’s pretty typical not to come forward until later, Special Victims detectives said,” Graves said, “When you’re a victim of this nature, they tend to wait. Who knows what reason? It could be embarrassment; it could be all sorts of things.”
The boy frequented his instructor’s southwest Modesto home, where the sexual abuse is believed to have taken place, police said. At the time of the claimed molestation, Loya had about 100 students, detectives estimated.
“There’s potential, obviously, for more victims,” Graves said, adding that detectives urge any others to come forward.
Loya was booked into the Stanislaus County jail on Wednesday morning. He faces charges of continuous sexual abuse of a minor, sodomy, child molestation and oral copulation, and remained in custody Thursday afternoon with bail set at $250,000.
According to his blogspot page, Loya is a fifth-degree black belt and owner and master instructor of Kempo Karate School on Winmoore Way off Crows Landing Road. The business was closed Thursday, with signs on the door that read, “Family emergency, no karate until further notice” and “Thank you for understanding – CKS School.”
The property owner and neighboring businesses had little to say about Loya. They said he had a thriving business with many students. One estimated Loya had been there at least six years.
A 2009 blogspot post showed photos from the grand opening of Loya’s studio “after years of teaching classes out of his garage.”
At his home Thursday morning, a juvenile daughter answered the door and said of the accusation, “It’s not true. That’s all I’m saying.”
Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact Detective Sean Dodge at 209-342-9123 or Crime Stoppers at 209-521-4636. Callers to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and are eligible for a cash reward. Tipsters may also text information to Crime Stoppers at 274637; type “TIP704” along with the message.
mercedsunstar.com
Karate instructor accused of molestation has prior sex conviction
Deke Farrow
6-8 minutes
The Winmoore Way karate studio owned and operated by Carlos Loya in south Modesto was closed Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016. Loya is accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy.
The Winmoore Way karate studio owned and operated by Carlos Loya in south Modesto was closed Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016. Loya is accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy. [email protected]
A Modesto karate instructor who was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of child molestation is a registered sex offender stemming from a conviction about 25 years ago, police reported.
Carlos Silva Loya does not show up on the Megan’s Law search, however, because his conviction was for a lesser offense, sexual battery, said Modesto Police Department spokeswoman Heather Graves. Investigators do not know whether the crime – which occurred outside Stanislaus County – involved a minor.
“We don’t have any case details; just an approximate time frame and what the conviction was,” Graves said.
Information on what restrictions Loya’s sex-offender status might put on working with children was not available Thursday afternoon.
Police say Loya sexually abused a 14-year-old boy in Loya’s home for almost a year. Detectives with the department’s Special Victims Unit launched an investigation last week after receiving information that Loya, 50, had molested the former karate student nearly three years ago, police said.
“It’s pretty typical not to come forward until later, Special Victims detectives said,” Graves said, “When you’re a victim of this nature, they tend to wait. Who knows what reason? It could be embarrassment; it could be all sorts of things.”
The boy frequented his instructor’s southwest Modesto home, where the sexual abuse is believed to have taken place, police said. At the time of the claimed molestation, Loya had about 100 students, detectives estimated.
“There’s potential, obviously, for more victims,” Graves said, adding that detectives urge any others to come forward.
Loya was booked into the Stanislaus County jail on Wednesday morning. He faces charges of continuous sexual abuse of a minor, sodomy, child molestation and oral copulation, and remained in custody Thursday afternoon with bail set at $250,000.
According to his blogspot page, Loya is a fifth-degree black belt and owner and master instructor of Kempo Karate School on Winmoore Way off Crows Landing Road. The business was closed Thursday, with signs on the door that read, “Family emergency, no karate until further notice” and “Thank you for understanding – CKS School.”
The property owner and neighboring businesses had little to say about Loya. They said he had a thriving business with many students. One estimated Loya had been there at least six years.
A 2009 blogspot post showed photos from the grand opening of Loya’s studio “after years of teaching classes out of his garage.”
At his home Thursday morning, a juvenile daughter answered the door and said of the accusation, “It’s not true. That’s all I’m saying.”
Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact Detective Sean Dodge at 209-342-9123 or Crime Stoppers at 209-521-4636. Callers to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and are eligible for a cash reward. Tipsters may also text information to Crime Stoppers at 274637; type “TIP704” along with the message.