Micheal Murray, the 35th District Attorney in Brown County, stated that Jose Perez was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Tuesday, July 7th for the offense of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child. Perez, who is 73 years old, will be required to serve all 30 years, day for day with no parole, and cannot be released until he is over 100 years old.

Elisha Bird, the prosecutor involved in the plea, stated that the decision to plead Perez to 30 years for this particular offense was a difficult decision to make given the type of offense involved. However, she stated that after discussing options with the victim, Bird felt that this agreement would both protect the victim and the community best.

Perez’s case had been set for a jury trial on July 27th.  However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, numerous safety precautions and restrictions had been placed on jury trials by the Office of Court Administration.

Bird explained that the practical effect of a 30-year day-for-day sentence for Perez is comparable to a life sentence given Perez’s age. Bird concluded that accepting this agreement would protect the citizens of Brown County from any risk of exposure to Covid-19 during a jury trial, while also ensuring that Perez spend the remainder of his life in prison. Given the practical effect of this prison sentence, Bird could not justify asking community members to risk exposure to seek a higher verdict during a jury trial.