UFC Champ Cain Velasquez Sentenced to 5 Years for Shooting at Man Accused of Molesting His Son: Reports

Former UFC champion Cain Velasquez has been sentenced to five years in prison for a 2022 shooting incident where he chased down and shot at a man accused of child molestation. 

Velasquez, 42, was sentenced on Monday, March 24, after pleading no-contest to charges of attempted murder, felony assault and gun charges in August 2024, the Santa Clara County Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release.

“Cain Velasquez was sentenced to five years in prison today for a vigilante shooting spree that wounded an unintended target and sprayed bullets near a school crowded with children, teachers, and parents,” the SCCPO stated.

On Feb. 28, 2022, Velasquez entered a “high-speed chase” in San Jose, Calif., while firing his registered .40 handgun “multiple times at a truck carrying three people,” including the man accused of child molestation, Harry Goularte. 

Velasquez’s four-year-old son claimed he was sexually assaulted by Goularte, 46, sparking Velasquez’s pursuit of him, CNN and Fox News reported.

“Velasquez began shooting at the victims at a Morgan Hill intersection,” according to SCCPO. “As they tried to flee, he rammed their vehicle and fired more rounds at them, striking the driver in the arm and right flank, severing his brachial artery, as they drove past the Charter School of Morgan Hill.”

Velasquez didn’t injure his intended target in the attack, according to a previous release from the District Attorney, shooting Goularte’s 63-year-old male relative instead, who survived his injuries. He was later arrested by Morgan Hill police. 

That statement also noted that Goularte was arraigned in Santa Clara County Superior Court three days before the incident on felony charges of child molestation. He was released from custody without bail and ordered to stay in home detention when Velasquez attacked.

“A search of the [Velasquez’s] phone found searches for ‘sexual assault case where victims [sic] family fights back’ and ‘sexual assault cases where victims [sic] family retaliates,’ ” the SCCPO said, per the latest news release.  

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Velasquez was taken into custody after his sentencing on Monday. He will receive credit for time served and so overall will spend approximately one year in prison, per KTVU Fox 2. 

Goularte is still facing pending felony child molestation charges. He was released from custody “on the supervised own recognizance release program with GPS monitoring over the District Attorney’s objections,” per SCCPO. 

District Attorney Jeff Rosen said: “One man’s decision to take the law into his own hands left an innocent man wounded and endangered schoolchildren, teachers, and many others in our community. If you want to do justice in Santa Clara County, please apply for a badge.”