Sonoma County judge upholds most charges in Rohnert Park child abuse case

A judge on Wednesday upheld most of the charges leveled against a Rohnert Park couple accused of abusing children authorities say they adopted in order to secure financial assistance from the state.

During a brief hearing in Sonoma County Superior Court in Santa Rosa, Judge Robert LaForge addressed motions for dismissal filed June 13 by attorneys for Jose and Gina Centeno, who will return to court Sept. 8 to schedule a trial.

LaForge dismissed one count of forcible lewd act upon a child under the age of 14, which was filed against Jose Centeno. The judge cited uncertainty about the victim’s age when the alleged crime occurred.

Each defendant remains charged with three counts of kidnapping for ransom and three counts of torture. Jose Centeno also is charged with eight additional counts related to allegations of rape and sex abuse involving the children.

The couple was arrested in August 2020. They have pleaded not guilty to the charges, and in February were ordered to stand trial.

The Centenos are accused of adopting two girls and a boy in 2007 for financial gain via California’s adoption assistance program. The girls were 3 and 4 and the boy was 2.

Prosecutors say the children were concealed from the public and subjected to years of torture in their home on Camino Coronado in Rohnert Park. Prosecutors have said they were chained to their beds, barely fed and beaten for minor infractions.

Officials added that the older girl, who would now be about 21 years old, disappeared in 2012.

The younger girl, identified in court only as Jane Doe 1, is now 19 years old.

She testified during the preliminary hearing — which took place over the span of several months last year before the judge determined in February that the case will head to trial— that Jose Centeno raped and sodomized her when she was 13.

Jane Doe 1 testified she and her brother, who was identified only as John Doe, now 18, were rescued after Jose Centeno brought them to Mexico and they met a U.S. citizen who they believe alerted authorities.

Jose and Gina Centeno’s respective court-appointed attorneys, Rachel McAllister and Evan Zelig, argued that the testimony and evidence didn’t validate charges against their clients.

They argued the children were legally adopted and, therefore, kidnapping charges are unnecessary. Furthermore, there was no concealment since adoption agencies knew the children were at the home.

Zelig argued Wednesday that his client didn’t abuse the victims; she punished them for misbehavior.

“There is no evidence this was done for sadistic purposes,” he told LaForge.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi