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Crime & Safety

Gonzales Pleads Guilty to Rape, Burglary

Jesse Gonzales changed his plea from not guilty to guilty for rape and burglary.

Jesse R. Gonzales, pleaded guilty, on May 31, to charges of Rape First Degree and Burglary First Degree for raping a 12-year-old girl at an apartment in Shoreline in Dec. 4, 2011. 

to the rape and burglary with sexual motivation charges, late last year.

According to reports, Gonzales, 37, slipped into the apartment, in the early morning, and sexually assaulted the girl. Police tied Gonzales to the alleged crime by a palm print he left on a glass dresser in the victim's bedroom.

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Advances in print technology helped the King County Sheriff's detectives identify him as the suspect, as his complete set of finger and palm prints were already in King County's AFIS database due to his five prior felony convictions and 12 prior misdemeanor convictions.

Gonzales, also known as Jesse R. Guerten, also pleaded guilty to a special allegation that provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years when a sexual assault involves a burglary and rape and the victim was under the age of 15. 

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It is the second time the PAO has used the special allegation upon conviction since the law went into effect in 2006.  After serving the 25 years, he could then face a potential maximum sentence of up to life in prison. 

A parole board has the ability to keep an inmate in prison up to life for convictions on certain sex offenses. 

"A person who would break into a home and rape a 12-year-old child has forfeited his right to live in a free society," said King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg. 

"There can be no mitigating circumstances, there should only be a prison cell and a life sentence," Satterberg added.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 22 at the King County Courthouse. The case was handled by Senior DPA Hugh Barber.

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