WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A Winston-Salem man was convicted on Thursday of multiple sex offenses involving children, according to the Forsyth County District Attorney's Office.
Santiago Ruiz Gonzalez's charges included statutory rape of a child by an adult, two counts of statutory sex offense with a child by an adult and six counts of indecent liberties with a child.
The State's evidence showed the Winston-Salem Police Department got a call on Nov. 1, 2021 detailing child sex abuse. The department's Special Victims Unit spoke with the victim and discovered the lewd acts were committed from Nov. 1, 2020 to July 1, 2021.
Investigators learned the victim was related to the suspect. The incidents included inappropriate touching by Gonzalez when the victim was between 10 and 11 years old.
In March 2022, Winston-Salem police received another call about child sex abuse committed by Gonzalez on a different child from May 1, 2017, to Dec. 31, 2018. The victim's pediatrician reported that her patient had told her about sexual abuse by a close family member.
This victim said she was raped multiple times by Gonzalez when she was between the ages of nine and 11 years old.
Detectives found that Gonzalez had lived with the victim during the time of the sexual abuse. He would've been between 38 to 42 years old.
When Ruiz was interviewed, he denied all of the allegations -- but further investigation showed that neither of the victims knew each other.
He pled guilty to all charges and was sentenced to 25 to 35 years in the Department of Adult Corrections on July 24. Upon release, he'll be required to register as a sex offender for life. He'll also have to be subjected to Satellite Based Monitoring for the rest of his life.
MORE WAYS TO GET WFMY NEWS 2
Subscribe to our daily newsletter Let’s Get 2 It!
Download the WFMY News 2 APP from your Apple or Google Play store.
ADD THE WFMY+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or search for WFMY.
Amazon Fire TV: Search for WFMY to find the free app to add to your account. You can also add the app directly to your Fire TV through your Amazon account.
