Guilty Verdict in Sexual Assault
On March 20, 2025, in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, TCDA prosecutors secured a guilty verdict against Visalia man Elijah Silva, age 24, for the 2020 rape of an unconscious female.
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. Eventually, 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.
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 swabs obtained from the SART kit strongly supported that Silva’s sperm and DNA were 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, the jury convicted Silva of rape of an intoxicated person, rape of an unconscious person, sodomy of an intoxicated person, and sodomy of an unconscious person. The charges are enhanced with special allegations that Silva inflicted great bodily harm, that the victim was vulnerable, and that the conduct was violent.
Sentencing is scheduled for April 18, 2025. According to current California sentencing guidelines, Silva faces 16 years in prison. He remains in custody.
The case was prosecuted by Supervising Deputy District Attorney Katrina Brownson and investigated by the Visalia Police Department and the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department.
Media inquiries can be directed to the Office of the District Attorney, County of Tulare Communications Director Stuart Anderson (559) 636-5494