Molestation Case Perils $1-Million Prize

Rodolfo Sahagun, a Carlsbad farmer who thought he had won $1 million at the horse races last month, is on probation for a misdemeanor child molestation conviction, a circumstance that may present an obstacle in his attempt to collect the prize.

A rule of the California Horse Racing Board’s administrative code says people who have been convicted of crimes involving “moral turpitude” are prohibited from being present at a race track during a horse race.

Sahagun, 48, pleaded no contest to a child molestation charge in 1982, Superior Court records in Vista show. Municipal Court records in Vista also show Sahagun pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, a misdemeanor, in 1982.

Sahagun’s attorney, George A. Martinez, said the convictions are “irrelevant” to Sahagun collecting the prize and argued that the Horse Racing Board’s code is unconstitutional.

“If we’re going to indicate to the public that this code is relevant, a good portion of those people who attend horse races wouldn’t be able to,” he said. “It’s not something that’s going to prevent restitution to my client.”

Sahagun selected nine winning horses out of nine races at a Hollywood Park handicapping contest July 21. A destitute farmer, Sahagun was on welfare when he traveled to Inglewood to attend the races. That day, park officials proclaimed him the park’s first $1-million winner, but complications arose before he was able to get the payoff.

Bill Swank, a supervisor in the San Diego County Probation Department, said Sahagun probably did not know about the horse racing code.

“I can guarantee you this guy wasn’t told to stay away from the track,” said Swank, who is not Sahagun’s probation officer.

Convicted child molesters are usually told to stay away from the victim and to go to counseling sessions, Swank said.

The 32-year-old mother of the 5-year-old girl Sahagun was charged with molesting said,

“If he does get the million, I hope he goes to extensive counseling, because he needs it. He disrupted my life, and he disrupted my daughter’s life.”

On July 29, Mission National Insurance Co. filed suit against Hollywood Park and Sahagun, contending that Sahagun filled out more than the one entry permitted by the contest rules. Martinez said that within 30 days, he will file a countersuit against the insurance company seeking the prize money and additional money for damages. He also plans to sue Hollywood Park, he said.

Ed Stetson, an investigator for the Sacramento-based California Horse Racing Board, said the section of the administrative code that excludes people from the race track usually applies to people who are caught bookmaking or gambling illegally at the races. Those people are then thrown out, he said.

“This is really a unique thing. We don’t have anything to fall back on,” Stetson said.

Sahagun did not win in a parimutuel race, which the board regulates, but in an “independent, promotional idea that the race track had,” he said.