ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Case # 14WF4071
Date: January 3, 2018
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A Garden Grove church volunteer was sentenced today to five years in state prison for continually sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl he mentored at church.
Defendant: Vincent Daniel Lavello, 53, Garden Grove
Pleaded guilty on Aug. 17, 2015, to the following felony counts:
- (3) Lewd acts upon a child
- Unlawful sexual intercourse
Sentence:
- Five years in state prison
- Register as a sex offender pursuant to PC 290
Circumstances of the Case
- At the time of the crimes, Lavello was in a position of trust as a church volunteer in Garden Grove, where he met 14-year-old Jane Doe.
- Between June 20, 2014, and July 20, 2014, the defendant committed lewd acts upon Jane Doe on multiple occasions and engaged in unlawful sexual intercourse with the victim.
- Lavello groomed Jane Doe by providing financial assistance to the victim’s family, helping them get an apartment, and buying the victim gifts.
- In August 2015, inappropriate text messages from the defendant to Jane Doe were discovered and reported to the Garden Grove Police Department (GGPD), who investigated this case.
- GGPD officers arrested the defendant on Aug. 17, 2015.
Prosecutor: Deputy District Attorney Lexie Elliott, Sexual Assault Unit
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TONY RACKAUCKAS, District Attorney
Susan Kang Schroeder, Chief of Staff
Office: 714-347-8408
Cell: 714-292-2718
Michelle Van Der Linden,Spokesperson
Office: 714-347-8405
Cell: 714-323-4486
