Santa Clara man convicted of importing boy for sex is found dead
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
(05-13) 13:05 PDT SANTA CLARA -- A Santa Clara antique dealer was found dead today, three days after being convicted by a federal jury of charges that he brought a teenage boy from Portugal to molest him.
John Carvahlo Diniz, 58, was found dead about 9 a.m. by a roommate at their home on the 500 block of Saratoga Avenue, authorities said.
There were no signs of foul play, police said. The circumstances of his death are under investigation by the Santa Clara County medical examiner's office.
Diniz was found guilty Friday after a two-week trial in the San Jose courtroom of U.S. District Judge James Ware. He was to have been sentenced July 7 on charges of transporting a minor with intent to engage in illegal sexual activity and enticement to travel to engage in unlawful sexual activity.
Diniz routinely traveled to the Azores, Portugal, where he owned two homes on the island of Terceira, authorities said.
He met the boy on Terceira in the summer of 2002, when the youth was 16, authorities said. Diniz promised to bring the boy to California as long as he agreed to have sex with him, federal prosecutors said.
Diniz repeatedly molested the boy before bringing him to the United States on Sept. 26, 2002, authorities said.
Once in the United States, the boy refused to have sex with Diniz and told a relative about the molestations that had occurred in Portugal, prosecutors said. The relative went to a counselor, who in turn went to local authorities.
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May 13th, 2008, 07:27 PM
John Carvahlo Diniz decided to save the state some money
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