A California man will serve more than 16 years in prison for a three-day crime spree in which he assaulted two patients at his nursing home, broke into a house through a doggy door, and attempted to kill a 6-year-old girl during her first sleepover, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
Joel James Gonzales, 28, pleaded guilty to felony indecent acts on a dependent adult in August, about a month after a judge declared a mistrial due to a jury deadlock on the charge. Jurors convicted him of attempted murder of the girl, felony assault with intent to rape during a burglary, and misdemeanor assault.
Gonzales worked as a dementia and Alzheimer’s caregiver at the Royal Gardens elderly care facility in Camarillo, roughly 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Gonzales assaulted two patients on October 15, 2020. Prosecutors said he cornered his first victim multiple times, pulled her down on her bed, and attempted to rip her clothes off. After the victim fought back, the suspect relented.
In the second attack, Gonzales led a 90-year-old dementia patient into a storage closet, locked her inside, and “performed lewd acts on the victim before staff started knocking on the door,” authorities said.
Gonzales crawled through a doggy door at a Camarillo property the next day, “surprising the homeowner,” according to prosecutors.
“Gonzales was ordered to leave but refused. “He wandered around the house until a Ventura County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived,” prosecutors claimed.
Deputies apprehended Gonzales, but he was later returned to his family. That night, a six-year-old girl was having her first sleepover with the family’s daughter. Around 5 a.m. on October 17, 2020, family members began hearing loud pounding sounds from the room where the two little girls were resting.
“A teenager in the house was the first to arrive and witnessed Gonzales violently beating and choking the six-year-old victim in her sleeping bag.” “The teenager rushed at Gonzales and knocked him off the victim,” prosecutors stated.
Gonzalez was restrained by his parents at home, who then contacted 911. Police discovered the girl in and out of consciousness, her face bloodied and swollen. According to authorities, the victim survived but suffered brain injuries.
Gonzales initially pled not guilty because of insanity before altering his plea to guilt. On September 25, a judge handed him down his punishment. Senior Deputy District Attorney Tom Steele stated that the convictions “enable each of the victims to receive the justice and closure that they deserve.”