Community Corner

Community Gathers to Support a Freed Pedro Carbajal

A couple years after his arrest, friends and family welcome and help soccer coach move forward.

Two days shy of two years in jail, at a reception in his honor, Pedro Carbajal got back all of the hugs, kisses and handshakes he missed.

"I cannot still comprehend the fact that I'm out here," Carbajal, a former Mountain View soccer coach and community leader, told Mountain View Patch in between greeting guests. "It's like my mind has been set to think one way for two years. I left my feelings behind to protect myself and my family."

Charged in 2009 with molestation and rape, on Feb. 16. The jury reached an impasse on the counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14, which caused the judge to declare a mistrial.

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One week after he regained his freedom, in the midst of the party the community had for him Friday at the , Carbajal still wondered how and when he will feel like he fits in again.

"I might need some therapy,"  he said. "It's really hard. It's really hard being back. I've been trying to readjust. I haven't touched a [soccer] ball since I've been back."

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Dressed in a button-down light blue shirt with white pin stripes, Carbajal untied his matching blue tie and relaxed. As the evening progressed, every person who descended the stairs and entered the hall congratulated Carbajal and expressed their happiness at his release. They shared that throughout the trial, they prayed for him.

One of those people, Betsy Nikolchev, executive director of the Family Engagement Institute at Foothill College, had worked with Carbajal on some anti-poverty outreach.

"He was a huge presence in the community," said Nikolchev. "He was a leader. Then this terrible thing happened, and I knew it was a mistake. I just had to believe. I believed in Pedro from the very beginning."

According to Nikolchev, Carbajal kept himself busy in jail reading books. "He made the best of a bad situation," she said.

"Now he just needs time to think about what he wants to do—go back to school, whatever he wants to pursue."

While Carbajal was jailed, his wife, Gloria Reyes, and five kids had to survive on Reyes' income. Though she never stopped working, Reyes said that community members stepped up and helped with money, food and, of course, prayer. 

"I always had faith in God," Reyes said in Spanish. "There were stressful and anxious moments. But I was always praying, and I knew that God would do his deed."

Reyes said she never doubted her husband's innocence, but it was very difficult on the kids, whose ages range from 14 to 4. The four boys are the oldest. 

"I had to explain it to the boys; that was the most difficult, because it was in all the media," she said. "But I wanted them to understand the situation well. Their father was everything in their lives."

Before his arrest, Carbajal managed a soccer club out of  and had previously partnered with the Mountain View Police Activities League as a volunteer soccer coach. However, after the arrest, the reputation of the burgeoning community leader became tarnished. He was terminated as a MVPAL volunteer.

"I feel emotional and grateful, first for God, and for all of the people, always," she said. "He's a good husband."

Throughout the evening, the disc jockey played dance music and the food table remained filled with contributions. At one point, Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive came on and someone, standing next to Carbajal, told him that this song was about him.

For Carbajal, the night was more than he expected.

"I feel in ecstasy," he said. "I feel like I'm coming back. I don't know. I feel so happy to see them all. My people, the people of the community."


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