A former Parker martial arts instructor was sentenced Nov. 26 to three years in prison for sexual assaulting two girls last year.

Jose Hilario Soto, 21, will serve the three years in the Department of Corrections followed by 24 months of probation, concurrent to 10 years of sex-offender intensive supervised probation. Soto must also register as a sex offender.

The parents of the victims spoke to Douglas County District Court Judge Theresa Slade during the sentencing:

“The world is full of thugs and miscreants and deviants, but those who abuse children who are defenseless and innocent … I’ll never figure that out,” their father said.

Soto pleaded guilty in October to one count of attempted sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, a Class 5 felony, and one count of sexual exploitation of a child, a Class 4 felony. Other counts were dismissed per the plea agreement.

Soto, of Denver, was charged in June 2017, following accusations of inappropriately touching two children at Otomi Martial Arts in Parker, according to a news release from the Parker Police Department. Soto began working at Otomi in March of that year and was hired that May. The crime was reported May 30,2017. Otomi fired Soto upon his arrest.

“These are some of the most challenging cases we handle,” said District Attorney George Brauchler. “We rightfully want to lock up for as long as possible those who satisfy their lascivious sexual desires at the expense of the innocence of the youngest and most vulnerable in our community.”

Brauchler commended the girls for their bravery in reporting the incident. The judge agreed.

“You are raising some pretty amazing young ladies,” Slade told the parents during the hearing. “They are brave, and they continue to show bravery and compassion.”