House painter pleads guilty to molestation charges

A Bay Area family never imagined a home repair project would bring evil into their home.

That evil was defendant Leonard Braudaway.

Court records show in March 2019, he was hired by the homebuilder to finish some repairs that included painting some areas of the home. But what the Lhotka family didn’t know was that Braudaway was a convicted sexual predator.

Prosecutors say Braudaway took advantage of the situation and when he had a moment alone with the Lhotka's four-year-old little girl, he exposed himself to the child and molested her.

"We have zero trust for anybody anyway, even prior to this, but never in our wildest dreams would we imagine a sexual predator be allowed to come into our home," said Lhotka.

In his latest court appearance, Braudaway pleaded guilty to the charges in exchange for five years in prison. The family’s attorney, Anthony Rickman said someone should have known this defendant’s dark past.

"When he was let into this home he was not only a sexual predator but he was also on probation," explained Rickman.

Joseph Lhotka is glad to see Braudaway go away for five years, but he said the trauma he’s caused to his little girl may take even longer to heal.

"We have some relief that he’s behind bars. It’s never long enough, but at least he admitted to what he did," said Lhotka.

After his five-year sentence, Braudaway will have to be evaluated under the Jimmy Ryce law, which requires a panel to determine whether a predator is fit to be released into society.