More molestation charges for Modesto karate instructor

Eight more people have come forward to say they were victims since a Modesto karate instructor was arrested in August on suspicion of molesting two of his students.

Carlos Silva Loya, 50, is now charged with 32 felony counts of sexual misconduct with boys ranging in age from 11 to 14 years old, according to court documents.

Loya was arrested after an investigation by the Modesto Police Department’s Special Victims Unit, which received information that led police to believe Loya had molested a former karate student for 16 months beginning when the boy was 13.

(Click here for the criminal complaint.)

Most of the people who have come forward since Loya’s arrest are adults now; the incidents date back as far as 1999. Some of the claimed abuse went on for years.

Loya’s charges include sodomy by force, forcible lewd acts upon a child, oral copulation by force on a minor and continuous sexual abuse of a child.

When the additional charges were added last month, a judge increased Loya’s bail from $900,000 to $5.75 million.

According to his Blogspot page, Loya is a fifth-degree black belt and owner and master instructor of Kempo Karate School on Winmoore Way off Crows Landing Road.

He had a previous conviction of sexual battery, but investigators did not know whether the crime – which occurred outside Stanislaus County – involved a minor.

Loya will return to court Oct. 25 for a pretrial hearing.

This story was originally published October 3, 2016 at 5:01 PM with the headline "More molestation charges for Modesto karate instructor."