Shana Gaviola, Violating Protective Order, California 2021

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Fresno Woman, 35, Arrested for Violating Protective Order and Conspiring to Transport Teen to Missouri

Fresno, CA – A shocking case of parental abuse and conspiracy has come to light in Fresno County, California. Shana Gaviola, 35, has been arrested and charged with violating a protective order that had been issued at the request of her son in July 2021.

According to court documents, Gaviola’s son began living apart from Gaviola with another family in 2020. He petitioned for emancipation from Gaviola and obtained a domestic violence protection order against Gaviola from the Fresno County Superior Court. The order prohibited Gaviola from harassing, striking, threatening, assaulting, hitting, following, stalking, molesting, disturbing the peace, keeping under surveillance, and blocking the movements of her son, and contacting him in any way, including directly or indirectly, and from denying his use and possession of his phone.

Despite the protection order, Gaviola and Julio Sandoval, 41, a former dean of students at a boarding school in Missouri, made plans for Gaviola’s son to be forcibly transported from California to Missouri. On August 21, 2021, individuals acting on behalf of Gaviola and Sandoval found the minor at a business in Fresno, handcuffed him, and forced him into a car. He remained in handcuffs for over 24 hours while they drove to Stockton, Missouri. He was then held at the boarding school until his father was able to free him.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Fresno Police Department, and the Clovis Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael G. Tierney is prosecuting the case. Assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Western District of Missouri and the Eastern District of Missouri.

Shana Gaviola faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

The charges against Gaviola are only allegations; she is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.