The California Department of Justice assisted with analyzing evidence

“It’s hard to argue with scientific findings surrounding evidence involving DNA.  Criminalists who work at California DOJ labs throughout the state are incredibly helpful to investigators, prosecutors and to victims of crimes, as well.”

CSLEA President Alan Barcelona

TULARE COUONTY – On April 18, 2025, a Tulare County Superior Court judge sentenced Elijah Silva, 24, of Visalia, to 16 years in prison for the 2020 sexual assault of an unconscious female victim.

While on patrol just after midnight on December 24, 2020, Visalia California Highway Patrol officers saw a vehicle approaching at a high rate of speed on Road 132. Radar indicated the vehicle was traveling at 78-mph in a 55-mph zone. With lights and sirens activated, officers pursued the vehicle which failed to yield at stop signs and reached speeds up to 125 mph. The car veered off the road and struck a pole near Avenue 384. In the vehicle were the defendant, who was driving, a second adult male, and a female. All three occupants survived the crash.

On the way to the hospital, the female told medical personnel that she believed she had been sexually assaulted, and a nurse administered a SART kit. Investigation established that the female and friends were drinking with Silva, who she had only met that night. Silva aided her drinking by giving her shots and directly pouring alcoholic drinks in her mouth. She then went to sleep in her car and awakened only after the crash. In early 2022, the California Department of Justice confirmed that evidential swabs obtained from the SART kit strongly supported that Silva’s DNA was present in the victim.

Prior to receiving the DOJ test results, Silva pleaded guilty in 2021 to evading an officer, DUI causing injury, and driving without a license. He was sentenced to a year in jail and three years’ probation. While on probation in 2023, Silva was charged with misdemeanor battery on a significant other and vandalism.

At trial for the sexual assault in March, the jury convicted Silva of four felony counts. The charges are enhanced with special allegations that Silva inflicted great bodily harm, that the victim was vulnerable, and that the conduct was violent.

In addition to his sentence, Silva must register as a sex offender for life.