Salinas woman who molested teen boy sent to prison on probation violation.

Annette Banda, the Salinas mom who was convicted of repeatedly molesting a teenage boy over the course of several years, is on her way to prison.

Superior Court Judge Carrie Panetta imposed a sentence of five years and eight months on the 53-year-old woman, after finding she violated terms of her probation, Monterey County District Attorney Dean Flippo announced Tuesday.

Panetta considered reports from Banda’s sex offender treatment manager, her therapist, and a four-page letter from the victim’s mother before imposing the sentence.

The case began in January 2014, when Banda, also known as Annette Vink, was arrested on felony charges of lewd acts upon a child and unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, among other charges. She was released on $1.48 million bail.

An investigation found she had been involved in a four-year sexual relationship with a friend of her daughter’s, beginning when he was 14 years old. Evidence included text messages, emails and nude photos sent to the victim’s phone by Banda.

In April 2014 she pled guilty to four felony counts of lewd acts upon a child of 14 years, and one felony count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.

Before she was sentenced, Superior Court Judge Richard Curtis ordered her to undergo an extensive psychological evaluation at the end of an emotionally charged hour-long hearing.

“I’ve been very troubled by this case. If this was a man standing before me who was a sexual predator, he would be going to prison,” Curtis said at the hearing. “I’m not sure what she is.”

Members of the victims spoke at that hearing, saying Banda was unwilling to take responsibility for her actions.

After the evaluation, Curtis suspended the five-year, eight-month term and instead placed Banda on a five-year probation. It included 365 days in jail, sexual offender counseling, no contact with the victim, and life-time sex offender registration.

In September 2015, Banda landed in jail for failing to register in Florida during an extended family vacation.

Terms of her probation also included prohibiting her from using any password encryption on any electronic device she uses or owns.

On Dec. 7, 2016, two officers from the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office searched Banda’s home as part of her probation compliance and found two password-protected iPhones and a password-protected iPad.

Four months later, on April 20, 2017, Banda and members of her family testified before Panetta, and the judge decided that Banda had not been truthful during her testimony regarding the devices, “and therefore was not taking responsibility for her actions,” according to a statement from the DA.

Panetta then imposed the full prison term of five years and eight months.

Panetta also cited the need for uniformity in sentencing and the rights of the victim, the statement said.