Sex Crimes Against 3 Girls: Man Living In East County Sentenced

MURRIETA, CA — A man charged with sexually molesting three young girls in Murrieta accepted a plea deal Monday and was immediately sentenced to 20 years in state prison.

John Michael Blake, 43 — who was last residing in East County San Diego — pleaded guilty to six counts of a lewd act with a child under 14 and one count of sexual penetration with a minor under age 14. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed to drop enhancements that could have increased his prison sentence. Blake took the plea agreement on the eve of a jury being seated for his trial.

In a criminal complaint lodged against him, Blake's victims were identified only with their initials. He molested one child for about a year beginning in August 2018 when the girl was just 12 years old; he violated another child in early October 2019; sex crimes against the third victim occurred over the course of two days in mid-October 2020, according to the complaint.

During Monday's court appearance, victims delivered impact statements, including a father whose daughter was molested by Blake.

"Our family has been through hell for the last 3 years, let alone the torture this man has caused our daughter and to the other victims," the father told the court, with Blake in the defendant's chair. (Note: The statement was shared with Patch after Monday's hearing. Patch is not publishing the father's name in order to protect his daughter.)

"This individual stripped our daughter of any relationship with her maternal family and shattered her childhood dreams.

"I am a very forgiving person, but this type of crime is something that myself and family believe is unforgivable. However, God has given me the strength to forgive someone who is not even slightly remorseful, but I will never and I mean ever forget, and I hope you don't either," the father continued.

"John, you are a monster, a pedophile, a child molester, a liar and a coward. With this sentencing, we will no longer wake up in the middle of the night and be concerned about our daughter and other children that you have hurt along with their safety and the acts that you caused on these girls," he said.

"I don’t know how you sleep at night knowing how absolutely disgusting your actions were and what you have done to our daughter and others," the father said. "You are sitting where you are today, by your own actions and because of these brave girls who have struggled and fought to seek justice."

The father shared with Patch that he hopes other families will see this case and feel they too can come forward if they are victims of sexual predators. Justice was slow, but it did work, he said.

Under the plea deal, the victims did not have to testify. Additionally, the deal requires Blake to serve not less than 85% of his sentence, so he will be at least 60 years old when is released from prison.

Murrieta police initially arrested Blake in late October 2020 following an investigation into the molestation allegations.

Blake was charged but remained free on a $2 million bail bond. He relocated from Murrieta to East County San Diego pending his Riverside County trial.

In November 2022, he reached a plea deal in a 2017 felony drug possession case against him out of Chamber County, Texas. He was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and was under a 10-year supervised release, according to court documents.

Back in Riverside County, multiple court hearings were postponed for Blake but after more than 31 months, he was rearrested following Monday's guilty plea. He has no chance of getting out of prison for at least 17 years.

Under California state law, Blake will be required to register as a sex offender after his prison release.

Patch is withholding information about how Blake came into contact with the victims, but they were known to him.