Turlock man stops trial to take plea deal in sex abuse of two boys

A 64-year-old Turlock man stopped his trial to take a plea deal and be sentenced to 12 years in prison for sexually abusing two boys over several years.

Elton Boyd Kelley on Oct. 23 pleaded no contest to continuous sexual abuse of a child identified in court as "John Doe 1" and oral copulation of a minor identified in court as "John Doe 2," according to a news release from the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office. Deputy District Attorney Erin Peck prosecuted the case.

Prosecutors said Kelley repeatedly sexually abused John Doe 1, a relative of the defendant. The boy was abused from 2003 through 2010; abuse that started when the boy was 7 years old and ended when he was 13.

When John Doe 1 moved out of the state, he told his father about the sexual abuse. The boy's father then notified police. John Doe 1 told police that Kelley sexually abused him on multiple occasions at Kelley’s Turlock home.

Prosecutors said Kelley began sexually abusing John Doe 2 in 2011 and continued through 2013. The boy was 15-years-old when the abuse began and was 17 when it ended.

Kelley's trial began Oct. 16, in Stanislaus Superior Court. After several days of testimony from prosecution witnesses and the victims, the trial was halted when Kelley agreed to the plea deal.

In exchange for Kelley's no contest plea, prosecutors dropped charges of committing lewd acts with a child, oral copulation of an unconscious victim, sodomy of a minor, oral copulation of a minor, sodomy of a minor and sodomy of a drugged victim.

Judge Thomas Zeff scheduled Kelley to return to court Dec. 12, when the defendant will be formally sentenced. Kelley remains in custody at the Stanislaus County Jail.

Prosecutors said the continuous sexual abuse charge is considered a violent felony "strike" under the state's "Three Strikes" law, which requires Kelley to serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence. The strike also can be used to lengthen a prison sentence if Kelley is convicted of another felony.

Kelley must serve 20 years and six months on parole after he's released from prison, according to prosecutors. Kelley also must register with authorities as a convicted sex offender annually for the rest of his life.

This story was originally published October 30, 2017 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Turlock man stops trial to take plea deal in sex abuse of two boys."