A 29-year-old man convicted of raping two women at knifepoint in Pierce County while part of a seasonal work program from Mexico was sentenced Friday to nearly 18 years to life in prison, the high end of his standard sentencing range.
A jury convicted Ricardo Villegas Molina in May of first-degree rape, two counts of first-degree kidnapping, two counts of second-degree rape and second-degree assault for attacks on two women in October 2022.
During his sentencing hearing before Superior Court Judge Edmund Murphy, deputy prosecuting attorney Lindsay Chenelia said Molina targeted sex workers in Tacoma, women who she said are less likely to report to law enforcement and less likely to be believed by police, prosecutors and jurors.
“The defendant’s actions are completely unwarranted, extremely violent, and the state does believe if he were to get out he will commit these crimes again,” Chenelia said.
The attorney described for the court the attack that a 50-year-old woman endured after Molina picked her up near Pacific Avenue and 84th Street. According to court records, Molina drove her to an isolated field in the Waller area of Pierce County the night of Oct. 7, 2022 and parked behind a pile of debris so no one could see them.
Chenelia said Molina pulled an 18-inch knife, and the woman ran from the car. Molina chased after her and pushed her to the ground, where he sexually assaulted her. Chenelia said Molina kicked the woman and shoved rocks and dirt into her body.
“Somehow she managed to fight for her life and get away,” Chenelia said.
‘Thank you for saving my life.’
The woman addressed the court July 12. Molina’s sentencing hearing was scheduled for that day, and Judge Murphy heard the victim’s statement, but the sentencing itself was set over to Friday so court documents could be translated for Molina, who speaks Spanish.
The News Tribune typically does not name victims of sexual assault. The woman told the court she was homeless and people treat her differently because of that. She said she wanted to thank the judge and the criminal justice system for caring about her.
“Thank you for saving my life,” the woman said. “I thought for sure I was dead that night.”
On Friday, Chenelia asked Judge Murphy to impose the high end of the standard sentencing range on each count Molina was sentenced for. She said the defendant’s actions were unwarranted, deliberate and “extremely violent.” Less than a month after the first attack, Molina raped another woman Oct. 30, 2022. He first contacted her at a convenience store near 84th Street and Pacific Avenue.
Molina drove the woman to a field slightly south of the first attack, and according to court records he pulled a knife on the woman and sexually assaulted her. She escaped from the vehicle, and prosecutors said the defendant’s DNA linked him to the attack. Prosecutors said they also had GPS evidence that tied him to the incidents.
That woman did not testify at trial. According to court records, the state was not able to get in touch with her.
Molina was arrested Nov. 2, 2022 in Fife, just three days before court records say he was due to return to Mexico. The arrest came after the Sheriff’s Department showed a sketch of the suspect to the owner of a farm near the area of one attack. The owner told deputies he recognized the man as a migrant worker and then showed them Molina’s vehicle, which was parked in a field.
An interpreter sat with Molina and his defense attorney, Kent Underwood, throughout Friday’s sentencing hearing. Underwood said his client maintains his innocence, and he asked the court to keep in mind inconsistencies the attorney perceived in the first victim’s testimony.
Underwood asked the court to impose a sentence at the low end of the standard sentencing range on each count for a total of 14 years to life in prison.
Because Molina was convicted of first-degree rape for the first attack and first-degree kidnapping in the second attack, both considered serious violent offenses, he must serve his sentences back to back rather than at the same time. Certain sex offenses must also receive indeterminate sentences, meaning Molina must serve a set amount of time before he is eligible to petition the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board for release.
Community custody for life
After hearing from prosecutors, the defense, two friends of Molina and the defendant, Judge Murphy imposed 215 months to life in prison. Molina must register as a sex offender, and he will be on community custody for life. He is also barred from having contact with the victims for life.
The two men who addressed the court in support of Molina spoke through an interpreter. They said they did not have knowledge of the man’s case, but they knew him to be a hard worker and a good friend. The first man who spoke, Jose Luis Rodriguez Capilla, said he came from the same town as Molina, and they had known each other since they were children.
He worked with Molina through two seasons as a temporary worker. Molina has two daughters, and Rodriguez Capilla said it was sad to return home to Mexico and hear Molina’s elder daughter ask where her father was.
When it was Molina’s turn to address the court, he said his rights had been violated since the beginning of the case. He took issue with the fact that the two incidents were joined into one case, and he claimed that the victim who testified had lied to the court. According to prosecutors, the 18-inch knife described in the first attack was not recovered.
“I think that all this is unfair,” Molina said, according to the interpreter. “I didn’t have a just and reasonable trial, and I want to appeal.”
Molina also described how he believed the jury was biased against him because one juror had been a victim of sexual assault.
“I only want to be treated well and for my rights to be respected. And not to be discriminated only for being Mexican,” Molina said, according to the interpreter.
After court adjourned, deputy prosecuting attorney Megan Winder told The News Tribune that Molina made a lot of statements that she didn’t think were consistent with the evidence. The defendant claimed that the second victim’s clothing was intact and not torn as the victim reported. Winder said Chenelia held up the clothing for jurors during their rebuttal arguments, and it was cut from bottom to top exactly how the victim described it.
Winder said it was true a sexual assault survivor was on the jury panel, but she said that wasn’t uncommon because the population as a whole has a lot of sexual assault survivors. In choosing a jury, she said it’s important to her to find jurors who are fair and impartial.
“Our goal is not to pack the jury in any way, shape or form,” Winder said. “I think it’s very important to make sure that there are people who have different backgrounds, but a jury of the defendant’s peers.”
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