Palmdale Man Gets 3 Years in Goddaughter’s Molestation : Courts: The sentence was the maximum permitted under a plea bargain. The girl, 12, will pursue a civil suit.

An Antelope Valley man convicted of molesting his 12-year-old goddaughter, who is also suing him in a civil case, was sentenced Tuesday to three years in state prison despite the girl’s pleas for a longer term and his attorney’s bid for less.

The sentence imposed on Richard N. Streate, 29, of Palmdale by Lancaster Superior Court Judge Haig Kehiayan was the maximum permitted by a plea bargain under which Streate pleaded guilty to one felony count of committing a lewd act upon a child.

“I feel much safer. Now I know he can’t touch me again,” said the victim, Desiray Bartak of Newbury Park, after sentencing. She emerged from the courtroom before a crowd of television cameras and reporters to urge other young molestation victims to report the crime.

Desiray, who was 10 at the time Streate molested her, gained widespread attention last week when she went public with activist attorney Gloria Allred to file a civil lawsuit against Streate. Allred said she believes Desiray’s civil case is the first of its kind in the nation.

Streate, a construction worker, was handcuffed and taken into custody after sentencing. As part of the plea bargain, prosecutors dropped a second felony count against him involving Desiray and two other felony counts alleging he also had molested a 10-year-old female relative.

A probation report said Streate, after his arrest, admitted molesting both girls. The probation officer called his conduct “indicative of confirmed sexual abusers.” The report also said Streate had used cocaine, LSD and marijuana in the past, and had a 1982 misdemeanor burglary conviction.

Streate, a friend of Desiray’s father, pleaded guilty to a charge of molesting the girl when she stayed overnight July 4, 1990, with his family, which was then living in the Littlerock area of the Antelope Valley. The second count alleging he attempted to molest her again in August, 1991, was dismissed.

Also dismissed were the two counts alleging Streate had molested his 10-year-old relative between January, 1989, and April, 1992. The girl told investigators she had been molested 11 times. Deputy Dist. Atty. John Portillo said Streate’s conduct with her was the most serious in the case.

Before sentencing, Allred had asked the judge to reject the plea bargain. Had the judge agreed, Streate could have withdrawn his guilty plea and gone to trial on all the charges. Allred said a trial could have resulted in a longer sentence and that Desiray was prepared to testify.

But Streate’s attorney asked that he only be sentenced to one year in County Jail, which was the low-term option under the plea bargain. Deputy Public Defender Roy Wallin said Streate came from a broken home and was molested at age 10 by his mother’s boyfriend.

Allred acknowledged Desiray’s civil suit is not likely to yield much in damages--Streate is a married father of four young children and is headed for state prison. But Allred said Desiray, through the lawsuit, wants to encourage other victims to take similar actions.