SAN JOSE, CA—Antonio Bates was sentenced last week to 15 years in prison, for his aggravated sexual abuse of a child under 12, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced.

Bates pleaded guilty on May 18, 2011, to aggravated sexual abuse of a child under 12, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2241(c). According to the plea agreement, Bates admitted to sexually abusing his stepdaughter while they lived on military bases at Fort Riley, Kan., in Germany, and Fort Hunter-Liggett, in Monterey, Calif., from approximately 1990 through July 1996.

Bates, 46, from Anchorage, Alaska, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov. 17, 2010. On April 20, 2011, the grand jury returned a superseding indictment, containing 11 counts. Bates was charged with sexually abusing his minor stepdaughter while they lived at Fort Hunter-Liggett from 1994 through July 1996.

The FBI initiated the investigation when the victim notified the Anchorage, Alaska Police Department of the abuse, more than 10 years after the sexual abuse ended.

“Our office takes sexual abuse crimes, particularly those against children, very seriously,” U.S. Attorney Haag said. “We are grateful that the victim came forward and hope this lengthy sentence brings her some measure of relief.”

The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Lucy H. Koh, following a guilty plea to count three of the Superseding Indictment, aggravated sexual abuse with child under 12, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2241(c). Judge Koh also sentenced the defendant to a five-year period of supervised release, registration as a sex offender, and ordered the defendant to pay the victim $26,444 in restitution. The defendant, in custody since his arrest in November 2010, begin serving his sentence immediately.

Grant Fondo and Amber Rosen are the Assistant United States Attorneys who prosecuted the case with the assistance of legal assistants Kamille Singh and Jeanne Carstensen, and Victim/Witness Specialist Deborah Kusber. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Anchorage, Alaska Police Department.