A man at the center of a decades-old sexual abuse case has been indicted again by a Limestone County grand jury on several sex charges related to the old case.

California authorities recently arrested Julio Cesar Valencia, 65, of 730 E. Evelyn Ave., Sunnyvale, California, after a Limestone grand jury indicted him July 2. He was then flown to Limestone County and jailed here July 28 on three counts of sexual abuse, one count of first-degree rape and one count of first-degree sodomy. All of the charges are Class C felonies, punishable by no more than 10 years and no less than one year and one day.

The alleged offenses were committed between December 1979 and December 1982 in Athens, according to one of Valencia’s alleged victims, who spoke to The News Courier in March on the condition of anonymity.

Valencia posted a bond of $70,000 and was allowed to return to California under the condition he call the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office with his location at noon twice a week, said Limestone County District Attorney Brian Jones.

Jones said each charge is a separate case, meaning each will have its own arraignment day.

About the case

Prior to these charges, Valencia was charged with first-degree sodomy and first-degree sexual abuse in 2008, then was re-indicted on first-degree sodomy and three counts of sexual abuse of a child under 12 in 2012. The 2012 sex abuse charges were dismissed because the law on which Valencia was charged was enacted after the alleged abuse occurred and therefore could not apply. In March 2013, Circuit Court Judge Chadwick Wise dismissed Valencia’s remaining sodomy charge after defense attorney Dan Totten successfully argued the delay in trying his client violated Valencia’s Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial.

When Wise dismissed the sodomy charge, he did so “with prejudice,” meaning the case could not be brought back to court. Since Valencia allegedly abused his victims over a three-year time span, Jones said the current case deals with a different point in time than when the previous charges took place.

“When you have a case, the two original indictments of sex abuse and sodomy, both dealt with different points in time,” Jones said. “(Valencia) has never been charged with rape before. We chose a different point in time. The sex abuse counts were not dismissed with prejudice.”

— Jean Cole contributed to this report.