Karate instructor accused of sex abuse has first court appearance

A 50-year-old Modesto karate instructor accused of sexual misconduct with two boys made his first court appearance Friday afternoon.

Carlos Silva Loya, owner and master instructor of Kempo Karate School, did not enter a plea. He told the judge his family was in the process of hiring an attorney to represent him.

Judge Edward Lacy scheduled Loya to return to court Monday for his continued arraignment hearing. Loya remains in custody at the Stanislaus County jail.

Prosecutors formally filed charges against Loya on Friday. He has been charged with seven felony counts of sexual misconduct and a misdemeanor charge of child molestation stemming from accusations of misconduct with the boys beginning in 2012, according to the filed criminal complaint.

Deputy District Attorney Monika Saini asked the court to increase Loya’s bail from $250,000 to $900,000. Judge Edward Lacy granted the prosecutor’s bail request, along with a restraining order.

The judge ordered Loya to stay away from the boys involved and not to try to contact them if he is released on bail. The boys are identified in the complaint as John Doe 1 and John Doe 2.

The complaint indicates that the sexual abuse of John Doe 1 occurred over 16 months, from Oct. 15, 2012, through Feb. 1, 2014.

Loya is charged with sodomy by force of a child younger than 14, committing a forcible lewd act upon a child, and continuous sexual abuse of a child stemming from the allegations involving John Doe 1, who was 13 years old at the time.

The defendant also is charged with sodomy by force upon a child 14 years old or older, oral copulation by force upon a child 14 or older and committing a lewd act upon a child 14 or 15 years old. Those charges stem from allegations involving John Doe 1 when he was 14, according to the complaint.

Loya is charged with a felony count of communicating with a child for the purpose of committing a sex crime in connection with allegations involving John Doe 2. The defendant also faces the misdemeanor molestation charge stemming from allegations involving John Doe 2.

The criminal complaint indicates that the misconduct involving John Doe 2 occurred over two years, from Jan. 5, 2012, through Jan. 4, 2014, and that the boy was 12 and 13 years old during that period.

Loya was arrested Wednesday after the allegations surfaced.

According to his blogspot page, Loya is a fifth-degree black belt and he owns and operates the karate school on Winmoore Way, just east of Crows Landing Road in south Modesto.

This story was originally published August 19, 2016 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Karate instructor accused of sex abuse has first court appearance."