Father, step-grandfather arrested for killing, sexually abusing teen girl in Goshen, deputies say

GOSHEN, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Goshen father and step-grandfather have been arrested for the death and ongoing sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl.

The Tulare County Sheriff's Office says the girl died in the hospital on January 16 after her family found her unresponsive at home.

At the time, deputies got a call from a young girl that she had a hard time breathing.

When deputies arrived at the home, the two men told deputies a girl wasn't there.

But hours later, the men called law enforcement back to the home, and that's when they found the teenager unresponsive in a back bedroom.

Deputies reported finding several signs that showed the girl had died from severe neglect.

They add that the teenage girl had wounds all over her body.

"Just the condition that the child, because 14-year-olds are children, was found in was a gruesome indicator of what had happened to her," said Ashley Ritchie with the Tulare County Sheriff's Office

During an investigation, detectives say they learned the girl had been repeatedly sexually abused by her father, 50-year-old Raymond Pena, and step-grandfather, 64-year-old Brett Minkler.

"It was her own father who sexually abused her for months, probably longer than that," Ritchie. "Left her like an animal on the bed to die and her own step-grandfather."

Deputies also learned the 14-year-old had not been out of bed since November.

"There were surveillance cameras that were found inside the home," said Ritchie, "which were the family's surveillance cameras that caught a lot of the disturbing things that happened inside before the girl died."

Investigators say Pena and Minkler had also been sexually abusing another 11-year-old girl.

"She's a neighbor that frequented the home," said Ritchie.

Detectives say they are still working to identify other girls who frequently spent time at the suspects' home.

Pena and Minkler were arrested on March 1 and booked into the Tulare County Sheriff's Office Adult Pre-Trail Facility.

They are facing charges of homicide and felony child abuse resulting in death.

A video posted by the Sheriff's Office shows when deputies handcuffed Pena at a Goshen home.

Action News spoke to multiple neighbors in the area. They didn't want to go on camera but said the two men kept to themselves.

"She had many health issues that were not treated for years and led her body into a state that it was," said Ritchie.

Neighbors feel shocked about the arrest of the two men and how the young girl died.

The Sheriff's Office said the teenage girl's mother and grandmother died two years ago, just months apart.

Action News also reached out to the Visalia Unified School District. In a statement, the district said:

We are saddened by the recent news related to the death of one of our former students. The loss of student life is devastating, and our thoughts and sympathies continue to be with those impacted. Members of our Crisis Response Team will be available to meet with students individually and in groups when school resumes on Monday. We have communicated with our local Tulare County mental health service providers, and they are prepared to support any of our students beginning Monday morning.

If you need immediate support, please call the Tulare County Warm Line at 988 or the Tulare County Psychiatric Emergency Team.

Anyone with information is asked to call Sergeant S. Olmos and Detective J. Haro at (559) 733-6218.

You can remain anonymous by calling or texting (559) 725-4194.

For news updates, follow Ana Torrea on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.