UPDATED Convicted Sex Offender Gets Prison For Drug Case

Updated, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012: A convicted sex offender arrested on West Cliff Drive for dealing drugs was formally sentenced to nine years in state prison Thursday, according to Sgt. Mark Yanez of the Sheriff's Office.

Jack Sobonya had taken a plea deal in October. Thursday, the sentence became official, Yanez said.

Sobonya, convicted of molesting a 3-year-old girl in Southern California and suspected of sexually abusing another young girl, moved to Santa Cruz after he was released from prison in 2010. There were no sex crimes allegations pending against him, but West Cliff Drive residents told authorities Sobonya appeared to have an unhealthy interest in young girls surfing at Cowell Beach. They also suspected he was selling drugs, according to the Sheriff's Office.

That's where sheriff's detectives stepped in, sending an undercover deputy to try to by drugs from Sobonya. He reportedly sold the cop marijuana and methadone, leading to his arrest.

Original story, Oct. 12, 2011: A 58-year-old convicted child molester arrested for selling drugs to an undercover sheriff’s deputy on West Cliff Drive a year ago pleaded guilty and will serve nine years in state prison, a detective involved in the case said.

Jack Sobonya attracted the focus of local law enforcement when he moved to Santa Cruz after being released from prison and lived in his car. Sheriff’s Sgt. Mark Yanez said Sobonya had an inappropriate interest in girls surfing at Cowell Beach.

Years ago, Sobonya was convicted of molesting a 3-year-old girl in Oxnard and served prison time. Later, a dog reportedly dug up video tapes of a second molestation video, but the girl was killed in a car accident and the case was thrown out by a judge because it was more than 10 years old and the victim had died.

“This is a guy who should have been locked for the rest of his life,” Yanez said. “He got off on a technicality on one child molest.”

There was no sex crimes allegation pending against Sobonya but neighbors had reported other suspicious activity. An undercover officer from the Sheriff’s Office drug team bought marijuana and methadone from Sobonya in September of last year.

He’s been behind bars ever since.

Sobonya faced 20 years behind bars because “he has a tremendous criminal history,” Yanez said, commentating that judges don’t want to send drug offenders to prison for two decades.

Rather, “after a lot of wrangling and so forth,” Yanez said, Judge Paul Marigonda approved a plea agreement Wednesday that will sentence Sobonya to nine years in prison.