Sacramento County authorities arrested a 75-year-old man on child molestation charges spanning decades, renewing criticism of a California law critics say could cut prison sentences short for elderly sex offenders.
A mother contacted the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) in September 2025 to report that her 13-year-old daughter had allegedly been sexually assaulted by a relative, Larry Candies, according to the sheriff’s office. Forensic interview specialists and detectives from Modesto’s Family Justice Center spoke with the girl, who told investigators Candies had been abusing her since she was 11-year- old.
A review of files held by Child Protective Services (CPS) and the Stockton Police Department turned up earlier sexual assault complaints naming Candies, the sheriff’s office said. Detectives reached additional alleged victims and talked with two of his relatives. One of them alleged suffering sexual abuse at his hands throughout the 1980s, starting at age 8 and lasting until she turned 13. (RELATED: California Serial Rapist Sentenced To 900 Years In Prison May See Light Of Day With New Laws)
SCSO Sgt. Edward Igoe said that the abuse went undetected for years, KCRA reported.
“It turns out there was also unreported molestation that occurred all the way back in the 80s,” Igoe said.
He warned that predators who target relatives often expand beyond the family.
“A lot of these monsters will victimize family members, relatives, but then, God forbid that relative has a friend stay the night. That’s where these additional victims come into play,” Igoe said.
ELDERLY SUSPECT ARRESTED IN CHILD MOLESTATION CASE
In September of 2025, a mother called the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office to report that her thirteen-year-old daughter had been sexually assaulted by a relative, seventy-five-year-old Larry Candies. The minor was later… pic.twitter.com/xhduETMlib
— Sacramento Sheriff (@sacsheriff) March 27, 2026
California’s Elderly Parole Program, codified under Penal Code Section 3055, allows certain inmates 50 and older who have served at least 20 years of continuous incarceration to seek parole, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).
A 2014 federal court order in Coleman/Plata v. Newsom originally established a parole process for certain inmates older than 60 who were also incarcerated for at least 25 continuous years.
Igoe pushed back on the idea that age diminishes the threat posed by sexual predators.
“No matter how many centuries you are sentenced to, they’re going to offer you the opportunity of parole,” Igoe told KCRA.
“Here’s a perfect example of someone that’s 75 years old and still actively molesting, taking advantage of young victims, ruining not only their childhood, but their entire life as well as the lives of their family members,” he said.
Candies was taken into custody Wednesday and faces eight counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14, the sheriff’s office said. He is being held at Sacramento County Main Jail on a $1 million bail.
