PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Peter Neronha has announced that a Massachusetts man has been sentenced in Kent County Superior Court to 25 years at the Adult Correctional Institutions after a jury found him guilty of child molestation.
On May 21, 2026, Superior Court Justice Brian Van Couyghen sentenced 60-year-old Carlos Vaquerano Zelaya to 45 years with 25 years to serve at the ACI and 20 years of probation following his release. Additionally, Judge Van Couyghen ordered that the defendant register as a sex offender and undergo sex offender counseling, issued a No Contact Order between the defendant and the victim, and ordered he have no unsupervised contact with minors.
Following the conclusion of a four-day trial, a jury found the defendant guilty of two counts of second-degree child molestation and one count of simple assault…