Watsonville Man Accused Of Sex Crimes Remanded To House Arrest

WATSONVILLE, CA — A Watsonville man accused of sexually assaulting underage deli employees was remanded Tuesday to house arrest, pending a bail hearing.

Carlos Gomez Velasco, 39, was released on a $200,000 bail bond Friday, but the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office is seeking to put Velasco back behind bars on a no-bail hold as he awaits trial. Velasco has not retained formal legal counsel, although attorney Geoffrey Rawlings appeared as a “friend of the court” on behalf of Velasco.

Velasco was arrested Thursday on charges of sexually assaulting one victim at an Erik’s DeliCafe location in Aptos between December 2020 and April 2021. Three minors have come forward since then to say that Velasco sexually assaulted them as well. Velasco is currently charged with 12 felony counts of sexual assault against three minor victims. The location was owned by his partner and the mother of his child, and Assistant District Attorney Kristal Salcido said Tuesday that Salcido held a “position of authority” at the deli.

Velasco has been terminated from the cafe and is required to remain off-site, according to a KSBW report.

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