When a jury convicted Carl Cacconie of molesting an 11-year-old girl in July, justice seemed to have finally arrived for his young victim. Then El Dorado County Judge Michael Mclaughlin made a decision that would haunt her for years to come: he let Cacconie walk out of the South Lake Tahoe courtroom—free on his own recognizance—the very same day the verdict came down.
A month later, when Cacconie was supposed to show up for sentencing, he didn’t. His ankle monitor was last detected in San Francisco. The man convicted of child sexual abuse had simply vanished, leaving investigators scrambling and a community stunned at how thoroughly the system had failed.
Now, years later, the victim—now an adult—is taking matters into her own hands. Frustrated that the judge didn’t detain Cacconie immediately after conviction, she’s launched a GoFundMe campaign to increase the reward for his capture. Sacramento Valley Crime Stoppers is offering $1,000, but she knows that’s not enough. The campaign has raised $900 so far, and she’s determined to push the number higher.“I think about it every day,”she said in an interview.“Even when I go to sleep at night, it’s like something that I’m in fear every day. I blame the justice system. They were supposed to have my back through this all.”
The case underscores a troubling gap in how the system treats child predators between conviction and sentencing. Investigators believe Cacconie has family in the Bay Area and Fresno, making him mobile and harder to track. But for his victim, the geography doesn’t matter. What matters is that a man convicted of destroying her childhood is still out there, free and unaccounted for.
Her fundraising push is a stark reminder that sometimes the people harmed by crime have to do the work that the system should have done from the start. It shouldn’t take a victim’s determination to make sure a convicted predator faces consequences.
About the Author
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.
