A 40-year-old Scotts Valley nurse was sentenced to more than 40 years in prison on child molestation charges in Monterey County.
Travis Harris was convicted last Thursday of more 23 charges, including 14 counts of lewd acts on children.
The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office wrote in a media release that Harris used Reddit to meet and talk to a 15-year-old girl in September 2022. After speaking online to the girl for a week, Harris met her in person and sexually abused her repeatedly for months. He sent her various explicit gifts and messages and asked her to bring him other young girls.
He later told the victim about sexual crimes he had previously committed against a nine-year-old girl who used to live with him. Now a young woman, that girl also came forward to testify against Harris after seeing news coverage of his arrest.
Both his victims’ names were withheld in court for their privacy.
Harris was also charged for sending harmful material and cannabis to minors.
Seven of Harris’s offenses are considered “strikes” under California’s Three Strikes Law, which increases the severity of punishment based on the repetition of violent or serious offenses. As a result, he will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Harris was sentenced to spend 40 years and eight months in prison before being eligible for parole.
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