Santa Rosa man gets 30 years for child molestation

A Santa Rosa man has been sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for molesting six children, authorities said.

Pablo Cardenas Estrada, 62, pleaded no-contest in May to six charges of felony child molestation.

Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Robert Laforge sentenced him on Wednesday.

Prosecutors called Estrada a “serial child molester.” He molested “numerous” children, many between the ages of 5 and 8, beginning in the 1990s, the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

Authorities opened an investigation in 2017 after a woman told police that Estrada molested her when she was a child, the office said. Investigators interviewed several others who said Estrada molested them.

District Attorney Jill Ravitch said she hopes the sentencing “will help the victims to heal, and provide the community with a sense of safety from this predator.”

Estrada will be eligible for parole after serving 20 years of his sentence, Ravitch’s office said.

You can reach Staff Writer Matt Pera at matthew.pera@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @Matt__Pera.