Solano County Man Convicted Of Molesting Stepdaughter

FAIRFIELD, CA — A Solano County Superior Court jury convicted a defendant Thursday of sexually assaulting his stepdaughter between 2010 and 2015, the Solano County District Attorney's Office said. Cliff Collins Jr., 47, faces 114 years to life in prison when he is sentenced May 13 for 14 counts including sexual assault, lewd acts upon a child and forcible rape of a child.

The victim, who is now 21 years old, testified during three days of the trial. According to prosecutors, the sexual assaults happened over a period of five years from when the victim was 12 years old until she was 17.

Collins would molest the girl in the morning hours after her would mother left for work, the District Attorney's Office said.

According to prosecutors:

"The abuse began by defendant touching the victim’s body but then escalated to multiple acts of forcible rape and forcible copulation. After suffering years of abuse at the hands of the defendant, in September 2016, the victim disclosed to her best friend over the telephone that the defendant had molested her.

"The victim’s mother, who had her marriage to defendant annulled in 2015, overheard the conversation, spoke with the victim, and then ultimately reported the crimes to the police.

Collins was arrested in 2016 following an investigation by Detective Adam Brunie of the Fairfield Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Ilana Shapiro, with Cynthia Malloy serving as the victim advocate.

In a trial that concluded this week, jurors convicted Collins of 14 of the 15 sexual assault charges.

Collins remains jailed while awaiting sentencing, according to the Office of Solano County DA Krishna Abrams.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.