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6d ago

Babysitter Sentenced to 100 Years-to-Life as Officials Seek to Close Parole Loophole

Officials and families warn that under current rules Lyon could seek parole at age 50 without reforms to bar early release for violent child sex offenders.

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Brittney Lyon, 31, right, who plead guilty to child molestation-related charges, cries during her sentencing at the Vista Courthouse on Thursday. (Hayne Palmour IV / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Overview

  • Brittney Mae Lyon received a 100-year-to-life term Thursday after pleading guilty in May to multiple felony sex-crime counts related to her role in molesting children she babysat.
  • Prosecutors said Lyon recruited girls aged 3 to 7, including two autistic victims and one nonverbal child, and facilitated their abuse by her then-boyfriend, Samuel Cabrera.
  • Investigators recovered six hard drives containing hundreds of videos showing Lyon and Cabrera molesting victims—some bound or drugged—which formed the core evidence in both prosecutions.
  • Cabrera was convicted by a jury in 2019 and sentenced in 2021 to multiple life-without-parole terms and more than 300 years in prison for similar offenses.
  • San Diego County’s District Attorney and victims’ families are backing a bill to exempt convicted sex offenders from California’s elderly-parole eligibility, which currently allows petitions at age 50.