A 29-year-old man convicted of raping two women at knifepoint in Pierce County while he was part of a seasonal labor program from Mexico was sentenced Friday to nearly 18 years to life in prison, the upper end of his standard sentencing range.
In May, a jury convicted Ricardo Villegas Molina of first-degree rape, two counts of first-degree kidnapping, two counts of second-degree rape and second-degree assault for attacks on two women in October 2022.
At her sentencing hearing before Superior Court Judge Edmund Murphy, Assistant District Attorney Lindsay Chenelia said Molina targeted sex workers in Tacoma, women she said are less likely to report to law enforcement and less likely to be believed by police, prosecutors and jurors.
“The defendant’s actions are completely unjustified, extremely violent, and the state believes that if he were to get out, he would commit these crimes again,” Chenelia said.
The attorney described in court the assault on a 50-year-old woman after Molina picked her up near Pacific Avenue and 84th Street. According to court documents, Molina drove her to a secluded field in the Waller area of Pierce County on the night of Oct. 7, 2022, and parked behind a pile of debris so no one could see them.
Chenelia said Molina pulled out a 18-inch knife and the woman ran from the car. Molina chased her and pushed her to the ground, where he sexually assaulted her. Chenelia said Molina kicked the woman and pushed rocks and dirt into her body.
“Somehow she managed to fight for her life and escape,” Chenelia said.
‘Thank you for saving my life.’
The woman addressed the court on July 12. Molina’s sentencing hearing was scheduled for that day, and Judge Murphy heard the victim’s impact statement, but the sentencing itself was postponed until Friday so court documents could be translated for Molina, who speaks Spanish.
The News Tribune does not typically name victims of sexual assault. The woman told the court she was homeless and people treated her differently because of it. She said she wanted to thank the judge and the criminal justice system for caring about her.
“Thank you for saving my life,” the woman said. “I thought I was dead that night.”
On Friday, Chenelia asked Judge Murphy to impose the maximum sentence in the standard range for each count Molina was convicted of. She said the defendant’s actions were unjustified, deliberate and “extremely violent.” Less than a month after the first assault, Molina raped another woman on Oct. 30, 2022. He first contacted her at a convenience store near 84th Street and Pacific Avenue.
Molina drove the woman to a field slightly south of where the first attack took place and, according to court documents, he pulled a knife on the woman and sexually assaulted her. She escaped from the vehicle, and prosecutors said the defendant’s DNA linked him to the attack. Prosecutors said they also have GPS evidence linking him to the incidents.
The woman did not testify at trial. The state has not been able to contact her, according to court documents.
Molina was arrested on Nov. 2, 2022, in Fife, just three days before court documents indicate he was scheduled to return to Mexico. The arrest came after the sheriff’s department showed a sketch of the suspect to the owner of a farm near the area of an attack. The owner told deputies he recognized the man as a migrant worker and then showed them Molina’s vehicle, which was parked in a field.
An interpreter was present alongside Molina and his attorney, Kent Underwood, throughout Friday’s sentencing hearing. Underwood said his client maintains his innocence and asked the court to keep in mind inconsistencies the attorney saw in the first victim’s testimony.
Underwood asked the court to impose a sentence at the lower end of the standard sentencing range on each count, for a total of 14 years to life in prison.
Molina was convicted of first-degree rape for the first assault and first-degree kidnapping for the second, both of which are considered serious violent felonies. He must serve his sentences back-to-back rather than at the same time. Some sex offenses also require indeterminate sentences, meaning Molina must serve a certain amount of time before he can apply to the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board for release.
Community custody for life
After hearing from prosecutors, the defense, two of Molina’s friends and the defendant, Judge Murphy imposed a sentence of 215 months to life in prison. Molina must register as a sex offender and will be in community detention for life. He is also prohibited from having contact with the victims for life.
The two men who spoke in court in support of Molina spoke through an interpreter. They said they had no knowledge of the man’s case, but they knew he was a hard worker and a good friend. The first man to speak, José Luis Rodriguez Capilla, said he was from the same town as Molina and that they had known each other since they were children.
He worked with Molina for two seasons as a temporary employee. Molina has two daughters, and Rodriguez Capilla said it was sad to return to Mexico and hear Molina’s oldest daughter ask where her father was.
When it was Molina’s turn to speak in court, he said his rights had been violated since the beginning of the case. He criticized the fact that the two incidents were combined into one file, and said the victim who testified lied in court. According to prosecutors, the 18-inch knife described in the first attack has not been found.
“I think this is all unfair,” Molina said, according to the interpreter. “I didn’t get a fair and reasonable trial, and I want to appeal.”
Molina also described how he believed the jury was biased against him because a juror had been a victim of sexual assault.
“I just want to be treated well and have my rights respected. And not be discriminated against just because I’m Mexican,” Molina said, according to the interpreter.
After the hearing ended, Assistant District Attorney Megan Winder told the News Tribune that Molina made numerous statements that she said did not match the evidence. The defendant claimed the second victim’s clothing was intact and not torn as the victim had said. Winder said Chenelia showed the clothing to jurors during their challenge and that it was cut from bottom to top exactly as the victim had described.
Winder said it was true that a sexual assault victim was on the jury, but she added that it was not uncommon because the population as a whole has many sexual assault victims. When selecting a jury, she said it was important to her to find fair and impartial jurors.
“Our goal is not to overload the jury in any way,” Winder said. “I think it’s very important to make sure that there are people from different backgrounds, but a jury that is comprised of the defendant’s peers.”
