Ceres man failed to register as sex offender. Now, he faces a huge sentence.

A 50-year-old Ceres man previously convicted of rape failed to register as a sex offender and now faces a maximum sentence of 27 years to life in prison.

A jury after a one-day trial on Aug. 30 found Ricardo Solis guilty of failing to register as a sex offender, which is a felony crime, the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office announced Thursday.

Solis is eligible for an increased punishment, because he had the previous rape conviction, along with two convictions of assault with a deadly weapon causing serious bodily injury. Those violent felony offenses are considered strikes under the state's "Three Strikes" law.

Prosecutors said Solis was most recently sentenced to 18 years in prison for the two counts of assault with a deadly weapon causing bodily injury. After serving that prison sentence, Solis failed to check-in with parole agents.

Solis was later arrested on suspicion of violating his parole. The parole agents notified Ceres police in March that Solis was in custody and he probably didn't comply with his annual requirement to register as a sex offender.

Solis’ rape conviction required him to register his home address with a local law enforcement agency each year within five business days of his birthday.

Ceres police investigated and determined Solis had not registered at all since Sept. 30, 2015..

When questioned, Solis told investigators that he knew he was required to register. Prosecutors said Solis told the investigators he chose not to register, because he knew he had an arrest warrant for violating parole and didn't want to return to prison.

Solis is scheduled to return to court Oct. 30 for his sentencing hearing. Deputy District Attorney Erin Peck prosecuted the failing to register case against Solis.

This story was originally published September 7, 2017 at 11:18 AM with the headline "Ceres man failed to register as sex offender. Now, he faces a huge sentence.."