SIMI VALLEY : Man Gets 48 Years for Molesting Girl
A Superior Court judge Thursday denied a convicted Simi Valley child molester a new trial and sentenced the man to 48 years in state prison for attacks on an 8-year-old girl.
A jury found James Centobene guilty of 22 felony counts of child molestation, including 15 that included substantial sexual contact such as sodomy, oral copulation, masturbation and exposure to pornography.
The jury also convicted the 29-year-old man of three misdemeanor counts of child annoyance, which stemmed from baths he took with the girl. The attacks occurred from January, 1991, to January, 1992, when the girl was 8 and 9 years old, Deputy Dist. Atty. Dee Corona said. She said the girl’s teacher reported the attacks to authorities. The girl told her teacher about the attacks, authorities said.
Judge James McNally handed down the 48-year prison term during a hearing in which Centobene claimed his lawyer did not properly represent him and requested a new trial. Centobene represented himself at the hearing.
A probation report described Centobene as a “very disturbed individual” with a “hostile attitude” toward the charges he faced.
“Mr. Centobene deserves all the time he can get,” Corona said afterward. “He never acknowledged responsibility.”
His wife, 33-year-old Elba Centobene, pleaded guilty to one count of perjury for lying during her husband’s trial about having knowledge of the attacks on the girl.
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