35 years to life for child molestor who reoffended after being granted probation

The long and tortuous legal proceedings against defendant Matthew Thomas McCarthy, age 49 (previously of Westport and the Spy Rock area), proceedings that began in February 2016, were finally concluded today in the Mendocino County Superior Court. He was sentenced to state prison for 35 years to life.


As partial background, after a jury was selected in late January 2018 to decide his fate and after the DA had completed his opening statement of anticipated trial evidence to the jury, the defendant, serving as his own attorney, asked for and was granted permission to change his plea to guilty to various child molestation charges. He belatedly accepted the District Attorney's prior one-and-only offer of 35 years to life. Such a sentence is possible because the current case had two separate victims and McCarthy was previously been convicted in 2001 of felony child molestation of a third victim. (The defendant was granted probation in that prior case following an apology wherein he promised to never re-offend.)

As required by law, the defendant's guilty pleas were referred last January to the Adult Probation department for a background study and sentencing recommendation. A sentencing hearing was calendared for March 9, 2018.

However, rather than proceed to sentencing on March 9th, the defense, through newly-retained counsel, requested time to research and prepare a motion to withdraw the January  guilty pleas. The request for additional time was granted and a hearing on the motion to be filed was calendared for today's date, May 11th.

Following an hour-long hearing this morning, the Court denied the defendant's motion to withdraw from the plea and sentence bargain, again the same bargain that the defendant had asked for and accepted -- both orally and in writing -- in January.

When the matter was called again during today's afternoon session, the Court then heard from one of the defendant's molestation victims when that now adult young woman read her impact statement in open court. In a strong and assertive voice, the woman offered advice to other molestation victims and explained to the Court the negative impacts she had experienced physically and emotionally due to the over four years of sexual abuse suffered at the hands of defendant McCarthy. She asked any future parole board considering the defendant's release to heed her warning that the defendant will continue to be a significant danger to children and animals from now and into the future because he has no sexual boundaries.

When all was said and done, the Court proceeded to impose sentence. The defendant was sentenced to the expected 35 years to life in state prison.

The defendant intends to appeal.