Jury convicts former California officer of Gig Harbor child sex crimes

A Pierce County jury has convicted a former California Highway Patrol officer of sexually abusing a young relative in Gig Harbor more than 15 years ago.

Jurors convicted 37-year-old Jacob M. Duenas of two counts of first-degree child rape, two counts of first-degree child molestation and attempted first-degree rape Monday, according to court records.

He’s scheduled to be sentenced next month.

Charging papers say the abuse happened in 2000 when the victim was 8 or 9 and they were both staying with a family member.

Detectives from Chico, California spoke with the victim in 2015 as part of a different investigation into molestation allegations against Duenas, according to court records.

The Chico Enterprise-Record previously reported that Duenas was convicted of misdemeanor child molestation in Monterey County, California in 2008. He worked there as a California Highway Patrol officer.

In February 2017, he was sentenced to 180 days in jail and five years probation for felony child molestation in Butte County, the paper reported.

This story was originally published August 14, 2018 at 5:31 PM.