Tulare man faces 510 year prison sentence for abusing young girls

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Tulare County jury found 60-year-old John Weece guilty of 44 counts of child molestation in December, including multiple counts of sex with a minor under the age of 10.

The crimes involved three victims: one was only six-years-old when Weece began abusing her.

The others, abused years earlier, were nine-years-old when it started.

In court Thursday, a family member called Weece a coward and his actions disgusting.

"I don't want to hear your stupid excuses you have," the woman said. "Nothing can undo what damage you have done. I can leave here today without forgiving you and live my life to the fullest."

One of Weece's victims also said she could not forgive him.

Her childhood, she said, was horrible because of what he did to her and the other girls.

"I thought you were supposed to protect them from monsters not be one," she said. "And now I sit here looking at you face to face remembering all the things you've done, all the things you have took, all the things you have destroyed, and all the things I can never, ever get back."

Court records show Weece's wife is in the process of divorcing him.

He's looking at a possible prison term of 510 years when he's sentenced on March 1st.

That's one of the longest sentences in recent Tulare County history.

"I am proud of our crimes against children division for making sure this predator cannot harm our communities again," Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward said in December.