Aliso Viejo Caregiver Sentenced For Sexual Battery of Laguna Woods Resident

ALISO VIEJO, CA — An Aliso Viejo in-home caregiver was sentenced Tuesday for the repeated sexual battery of a Laguna Woods senior housing community resident in 2013.

Robert Ligayo, a 65-year-old resident of Aliso Viejo who entered his guilty plea in August was sentenced to one year in jail and placed on probation for three years.

Court records show that the charge of sexual penetration by a foreign object and force was dismissed at sentencing. At his arraignment in June 2013, Ligayo's family proclaimed his innocence to reporters and the judge.

"His wife said all of his patients love him and the company used him as one of their main guys because the patients liked him so much," defense attorney Dennis O'Connell said at the time.

Ligayo was arrested after the then-66-year-old woman came forward to allege that her caregiver had been sexually abusing her for the past six months, according to Orange County sheriff's officials.

Image of Robert Ligayo courtesy Orange County Sheriff's Department