A Santa Barbara man was sentenced Friday to 20 years in state prison for a series of sexual assaults committed in 2023.
Honorio Meliton Fidal, 35, was charged with rape by intoxication, forcible rape, forcible sodomy, and sexual penetration of an unconscious person. The charges stem from three separate sexual assaults on three women.
Meliton-Fidal was charged last December after it was discovered that his DNA matched the DNA found on two of the victims. His DNA was in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a national database maintained by the FBI that stores DNA profiles from criminal investigations, because of a prior felony conviction.
District Attorney John Savrnoch said Meliton-Fidal wouldn’t have been convicted if it weren’t for the courage of the three survivors, DNA evidence and the work done by Santa Barbara Police Detective Adam Mik.
“This case is a powerful example of how collaboration, the bravery of survivors and the unwavering commitment of law enforcement can bring a perpetrator to justice,” Savrnoch said in a news release on Friday.
On Jan. 23, 2023, one of the survivors, identified as Jane Doe 1, was sleeping in a park when Meliton-Fidal raped her and then disappeared. When she woke up, she felt that she had been attacked and contacted police.
On Feb. 26, 2023, Jane Doe 2 was walking home when Meliton-Fidal accosted her and forced her to walk to a secluded area, where he raped and sodomized her. Once Jane Doe 2 got to safety, she contacted law enforcement. While she couldn’t identify her attacker, law enforcement was able to collect DNA that led them to Meliton-Fidal.
On May 21, 2023, Jane Doe 3 was sleeping on the street with her dog when she woke up to Meliton-Fidal assaulting her. She pushed Meliton-Fidal off her, and her dog started attacking him.
Meliton-Fidal dropped his phone and ran, but then tried to go back for his phone. Jane Doe 3 was able to fight him off, keeping the phone.
Meliton-Fidal was arrested on Nov. 22, 2023, after law enforcement got the DNA match and discovered an email address with his name associated with the phone.