By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com
A man convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with two young girls has been sentenced to 140 years to life in prison.
Kevin Fitzgerald, 30, was sentenced Thursday by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Roland Candee after a jury found him guilty of four counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child younger than 14 years old. Fitzgerald also admitted to his prior conviction for a criminal threat, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office news release.
The two victims were 11 and 13 years old and both knew Fitzgerald's co-defendant, Diane Peek, who previously pleaded guilty in the case. She was 17 years old at the time of the crime, but was tried as an adult. Peek was in a relationship with Fitzgerald, who was 28 at the time.
Evidence indicated that Peek also was physically abused by Fitzgerald, officials said.
On Oct. 25, 2008, Fitzgerald, Peek and the two girls went to a nature area between two apartment complexes, where the two victims performed sexual acts with Fitzgerald, officials said. All four then went to the apartment that Peek and Fitzgerald shared, where more sexual activity occurred, with Peek's participation. It was found that Fitzgerald had sexual intercourse with both the victims, officials said.
The victims' mothers reported the girls missing, and Sacramento County sheriff's deputies found them with Peek and Fitzgerald in Fitzgerald's apartment the next morning.
Peek pleaded guilty to two counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 and agreed to testify at Fitzgerald's trial.
Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.