A Salinas barber was found guilty of committing sexual battery and orally copulating a male adult by force, according to the Monterey County District Attorney’s office.
Rafael Martinez Vargas, 45, from Haircuts in Shape located at 326 East Alisal St., was found guilty of forcibly orally copulating a male adult involving mouth-to-genital or mouth-to-anus contact and committing sexual battery, according to the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office.
The incident began in March of 2024, when Vargas allegedly began touching the man's genitals without his consent and then pulled down his pants and began to orally copulate him. Although the man tried to push Vargas off, Vargas did not stop.
Two other victims testified during the jury trial on similar accounts against Vargas. One recalled Vargas also pulling his pants down and touching his groin in 2017, while the other victim remembered an incident in 2019, where Vargas groped the genitals of the victims over the clothes numerous times without their consent.
These three victims did not physically resist Vargas, because they froze in response to the shock and trauma of the assault, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Vargas is required to register as a sex offender and will be sentenced on Thursday, Aug. 27 by Monterey County Superior Court Judge Mark Hood with a possible maximum sentencing of almost nine years.