Man Sentenced to 18 Years for Raping Stepdaughter

An El Monte man who enslaved and sexually abused his mentally disabled stepdaughter pleaded guilty Thursday to three counts of rape and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Tito Dominguez, 60, entered the plea in a Pomona courthouse on the morning his trial was to begin. He faced up to 60 years in prison if convicted of five counts of rape and charges of conspiracy to commit child endangerment.

Dominguez, who had been on the run for three years, was captured last December in Mexico.

He was charged with raping and abusing his teenage stepdaughter, Melissa, from 1993 to 1997.

Melissa, now 23, was never enrolled in school but kept at home and forced to perform household chores and endure persistent beatings. Relatives called her “Cinderella.”

She was 17 when authorities removed her from the home, and had the learning skills of a 7-year-old.

Dominguez’s wife, Maria Carmen Salcedo, who was in court Thursday as a potential witness, is serving nine years in prison after pleading no contest to abusing her daughter, who suffered broken bones and teeth and burnings.

“Given the horrific circumstances in this case, the sentence is more than justified,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Christina S. Weiss.

Weiss said the decision to allow Dominguez to enter the plea also took into consideration Melissa’s recent arrest on two counts of armed robbery. Those alleged incidents occurred after she left the home of her sister, who was acting as her guardian.