Man sentenced for raping, impregnating relative

MONTEREY, Calif. - A Monterey man was sentenced to 40 years in state prison for raping his relative for several years which led to her having a child, prosecutors said Friday.   

Saul Edgardo Cerna, 44, was convicted of one count of forcible rape of a child over 14 years, two counts of forcible rape, one count of forcible oral copulation of a child over 14 years and one count of forcible oral copulation.   

In October 2019, a concerned citizen saw a young woman running across the lawn at Colton Hall in Monterey, carrying a small child. When the witness approached her, she told him that she needed the police. Prosecutors said he then assisted her to a police station and remained there to translate for her during her initial contact with a police officer.   

According to the woman, Cerna, who is a blood relative of hers, brought her to Monterey from El Salvador at the age of 17. The victim said she came to the U.S. voluntarily to seek a better life.   

However, her first night in the U.S. became horrible when Cerna violently raped her and continued sexually assaulting her for several years, prosecutors said. Due to the sexual assaults, the victim became pregnant and gave birth to a child.   

The victim knew no one in the U.S. who could help her, and Cerna monitored her calls home to El Salvador. It was only when Cerna made threats against their child that she found the courage to run and seek help, prosecutors said.   

According to the District Attorney's Office, the charges constitute five "strikes" under California's Three Strikes Law and Cerna will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.