LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Clearlake man has been sentenced to 26 years in prison for sexually assaulting a child dozens of times in a six-month period.
Anthony Ellis Bugg, 52, of Clearlake received the sentence from Judge Richard Martin on Monday.
On Oct. 29 Bugg had pleaded guilty to two counts of molesting an 11-year-old child, according to the Lake County District Attorney’s Office.
Bugg’s public defender, Barry Melton, declined comment on the case, which was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Edward Borg, the assigned child sexual assault prosecutor for the Lake County District Attorney’s office. District Attorney Investigator Denise Hinchcliff also assisted in the investigation.
The investigative reports and testimony at the preliminary examination showed that the crimes committed by Bugg came to light when he emailed a suspected child molester in Nevada.
Bugg, using the pseudonym “Tony Smith,” boasted about his 11-year old girlfriend. Unknown to Bugg, that person had been arrested and his computer accounts were being monitored by law enforcement.
The account used by Bugg was traced to an address in Clearlake. After receiving the foregoing information, Det. Timothy Alvarado of the Clearlake Police Department, assisted by Det. Ryan Peterson, began an investigation in which he determined that Bugg lived at the address listed in the account.
During the investigation, the victim, an 11 year old girl, disclosed that Bugg had molested her on numerous occasions, beginning in December 2011. Most of the assaults took place in a shed behind Bugg’s residence.
The victim estimated that Bugg had molested her at least 30 times between January and May 2012. The investigation also disclosed a brief film clip of Bugg molesting the victim.
Bugg pleaded no contest to two separate felony offenses: lewd act with a child by force or violence, which was alleged to have occurred in December 2011, and continuous sexual abuse of a child, alleged to have occurred from January to mid-May 2012, officials reported.
Finding that the crimes displayed an aggravated level of cruelty and viciousness, Judge Martin sentenced Bugg to the upper term in each count.
Because both offenses are violent sex crimes, Bugg was sentenced to full consecutive terms, for an aggregate sentence of 26 years in state prison.
Additionally, Bugg will have to serve 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for release. When he is released, Bugg will be required to register as a sex offender.