NAPA, CA — A Bay Area man convicted by a Napa County jury last month of sexually penetrating women by force while they used port-a-potties was sentenced Tuesday to 16 years and eight months in California state prison. Peterson Fontes, 42, of Richmond, received the maximum sentence from Napa County Superior Court Judge Scott Young, Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley said Tuesday.

Jurors found Fontes guilty Dec. 10 of two counts of sexual penetration by force, one count of second-degree burglary and one count of vandalism in the crimes committed in May 2019 at two Bay Area music festivals: BottleRock Napa Valley and a street fair/music festival in Alameda County. The jury also found true a special allegation that the amount of damage caused by the vandalism was over $400.

According to prosecutors, Fontes cut holes into the back of portable toilets and then digitally — meaning with his fingers — penetrated two women, both of whom testified during the trial. Fontes was arrested when he was caught behind the porta-potties at BottleRock Napa Valley, a three-day music festival held annually over Memorial Day weekend at Napa Valley Expo in Napa.

"This defendant exhibited an extreme and reprehensible degree of criminal sophistication and planning in carrying out these sexual assaults," said Napa County Deputy District Attorney Kristen Orlando, who led the county's prosecution of Fontes. "He meticulously placed holes in handicap porta-potties at busy events and preyed on unsuspecting women during their most private moments, when they were at their most vulnerable," Orlando said.

Napa Police Department Detective Brandt Keown headed up the investigation of Fontes, while Napa County District Attorney Investigators Ana Baber and Sharon Fong assisted in the prosecution.

The county's Sexual Assault Victim Services provided advocacy for the survivors.