Punishment delivered for Fresno kidnapping, sex assault making national headlines

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Ten years after a Fresno kidnapping made national headlines, the man who snatched an 8-year-old girl and sexually attacked her is going to prison.

It was October 2010 when a good Samaritan ended an 8-year-old girl's nightmare and got her away from Gregorio Gonzalez.

"I told him, 'That ain't your little girl, man,' because he was hiding her," said Victor Perez on the day he rescue the girl.

Nine-and-a-half years later, a judge finally sentenced Gonzalez to prison.

"You know, it's been a long road to justice in this case," said legal analyst Tony Capozzi.

"This is a pretty troublesome and egregious case," said Judge Michael Idiart.

Gonzalez exposed himself to two little girls, then tried to entice them by offering to take them to get candy.

They wouldn't go, so he tried again on another two girls and grabbed the 8-year-old victim.

When he got caught, he lied about his crimes to police and claimed he was set up in a cop conspiracy.

"Certainly a very violent crime," said Judge Idiart. "I believe he is a serious danger to the community."

The little girl has become a woman in years Gonzalez sat in the Fresno County jail, bulking up and even taking college classes while he fought the criminal charges.

He finally admitted to two serious sex crimes last October when prosecutors offered him a punishment with a chance at parole.

The deal calls for him to serve 40 years to life, a lesser sentence, but one that kept the victim from having to testify about what happened in 2010.

She didn't even want to come to court to see Gonzalez get his punishment.

"I think for her to relive that trauma, to bring that all back again I think would be devastating to her," Capozzi said.

Under current law, Gonzalez will have to serve 85% of his 40 years, and because he committed another felony while in jail, he has about 27 more years to serve before his first parole hearing.