A Long Beach man has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for a violent downtown Huntington Beach kidnapping and sexual assault that rattled the coastal city in June 2021. Florentino Contreras Bacilio, 52, was convicted by a jury in late February and received his sentence at a hearing on Friday. His co-defendant, Angel Lopezevaristo, previously pleaded guilty and is serving a 30-year-to-life term for his role in the same attack.
How Detectives Pieced the Case Together
The victim, then 27, was walking in downtown Huntington Beach on the night of June 6, 2021, when two men grabbed her, forced her into a vehicle, and later left her on Pacific Coast Highway south of Warner Avenue, according to a 2021 press release from the Huntington Beach Police Department. Patrol officers and crime scene investigators gathered witness statements, physical evidence and surveillance footage. That investigation produced a partial license plate that helped lead detectives to suspects in Long Beach, and the department announced their arrests three days after the assault.
Conviction and What Jurors Heard
In late February, a jury found Bacilio guilty of kidnapping to commit a sex offense and two counts of attempted sexual penetration by a foreign object and force, and jurors also found true allegations that the victim suffered great bodily injury, according to court reporting by City News Service. During the trial, prosecutors showed jurors surveillance video of the two men dragging the woman into a Chevrolet Traverse and described how she was beaten and strangled before waking up on the highway, details that emerged in coverage by the Los Angeles Times. Defense attorneys did not dispute that Bacilio took part in the abduction but argued he did not intend for the sexual assaults to occur, according to the court coverage.
Sentence, Earlier Plea, and Police Reaction
The Huntington Beach Police Department publicly noted Bacilio's sentence in a post on Facebook on Friday, thanking Deputy District Attorney Thomas Farnell and the Orange County Sheriff's Department crime lab and quoting Capt. Kevin Johnson praises the work of the Major Crimes Unit. In separate reporting, the Long Beach Post noted that co-defendant Angel Lopezevaristo pleaded guilty on Nov. 22, 2024, and was sentenced to 30 years to life in connection with the same attack. Authorities have said the case hinged on a mix of surveillance video, witness accounts, and forensic evidence.
Local Context and Next Steps
Prosecutors still plan to pursue any remaining sentencing enhancements in follow-up proceedings, according to court records and reporting from City News Service. Both police and local coverage have emphasized how routine patrol work, community information, and extensive video evidence helped transform an initially terrifying late night attack into a case that ended with convictions and lengthy prison terms.
