Todd Thomas wasn't too happy when Fresno County Superior Court Judge Adolfo Corona gave his daughter's abuser a no-jail sentence in 2017.
Thomas had begged Corona to sentence Hugo Rabson, then 43, who had asked for and received nude photos of Thomas' 14-year-old daughter, to prison. But Corona gave Rabson three years' probation, which angered Thomas at the time.
On Monday, Corona, who has since retired from the bench, was charged by county prosecutors with sexual battery and sexual penetration by means of fear or force. No further details about the case were immediately available.
“I’m not at all surprised that this judge is sympathetic to predators,” Thomas told The Times in an interview. “I think the county definitely owes my family a lot, but I don’t think we’ll ever see that.”
Corona faces a minimum of eight years in prison and would be required to register as a sex offender if convicted. He pleaded not guilty and was held on $70,000 bail. The case is being heard by a Tulare County judge.
Former Fresno County Superior Court Judge Adolfo Corona, pictured here in 2005, has been charged with sexual assault.
(Ash Bee)
Corona was appointed to the post in 2003 by then-Governor Gray Davis.
Thomas' daughter's case became news when Thomas posed as her daughter in a series of messages with the sexual predator, arranged to meet him at a Clovis park and captured him in a citizen's arrest. Thomas posted her citizen's arrest on Facebook and police arrested Rabson that day.
After Rabson pleaded guilty to a charge of engaging in lewd acts with a minor, Corona ordered him to register as a sex offender but declined to require him to wear a GPS ankle monitor while serving his three-year probation.
“I wasn’t impressed. The fact that they gave this guy three years probation. I thought they were being soft. How do I tell the next parent to trust the system?” Thomas asked.
After his daughter's case closed, Thomas created a nonprofit called Fathership. The group helps men dealing with issues like anger management and domestic violence.
“The case led me to create something to help my community of men in today’s world,” Thomas said.
