SAN JOSE, Calif.—A nearly 17-year veteran of the Santa Clara County Department of Corrections was sentenced Monday to 12 years in state prison for several child sex crimes involving a niece.
Jose Zarate appeared Monday in Santa Clara County Superior Court for sentencing on charges including lewd and lascivious acts on a child by force, on a child under 14, violence, duress and fear.
Twenty-one-year-old Karinah Guzman says Zarate molested her for about four years, starting when she was about 9 years old.
Guzman says this has divided the family.
“The strained relationships, it wasn’t my fault,” she said. “It was all his fault.”
She says she’s speaking publicly in an effort to help others in similar situations.
