The husband of a Woodbury daycare provider who sexually assaulted two children under the age of 10 was sentenced to 18 years in prison, announced Washington County Attorney Kevin Magnuson.
Judge Siv Mjanger handed down concurrent sentences of 216 months and 172 months in prison to Norberto De Jesus Zelada Perez for two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, rejecting the defense's plea for a reduced sentence. This sentencing followed the 44-year-old’s conviction by a Washington County jury in August.
According to the criminal complaint, Woodbury Police began investigating Perez in May 2022 after a 7- year-old told her parents that Perez had sexually assaulted her. A second child also disclosed similar abuse to her mother and reported it happened every time they were at day care. Perez resided with his wife on Sandlewood Road in Woodbury where she operated an in-home childcare facility. The reported assaults occurred in the home between 2020 and 2022 while the children were in his wife’s care.
"It is so important that we protect the most vulnerable among us," said Magnuson. "Not only is this a terrible crime for any family to have suffered, but it is made even worse because it happened in a place where we trust our children are safe and loved. Our hearts are with the families of everyone involved and we hope today’s sentence helps them toward a path of healing.”
In addition to the prison sentence, Perez will be subject to both lifetime conditional release and predatory offender registration.
The Washington County complaint stated that Perez, 45, of Woodbury, was charged with two counts of felony criminal sexual conduct – 1st degree penetration or contact with person under 13 – actor greater than 36 months old and felony criminal sexual conduct – 2nd degree – victim under 13 – actor greater than 36 months old. On May 15, 2022, officers responded to a report of sexual assault involving multiple juveniles in the 79th Street of Cottage Grove.