He’s convicted of 22 counts of child molestation, and his youngest victim was only 3
A Visalia man was found guilty Tuesday of 22 felony counts of child molestation, the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office said. The molestation of five victims spanned 16 years starting in 1993, and the youngest victim was only 3 years old when the abuse began.
Special allegations against Alex Lopez, 75, also said that the jury confirmed special allegations that there was substantial sexual conduct and that each crime involved multiple victims.
The district attorney’s office said between July 16, 1993 and July 15, 1995, Lopez sexually assaulted a girl starting when she was 9 years old. Then between Jan. 4, 1996 and Jan. 3, 1998, he sexually assaulted a girl twice starting when she was 6 years old.
From Jan. 18, 1995 to Jan. 17, 2000, Lopez sexually assaulted a girl 11 times starting when she was 4 years old, the district attorney’s office said. Seven sexual assaults occurred between May 5, 2001 and May 4, 2008 on a girl starting when she was 4 years old.
The last crime was between May 20, 2005 and May 19, 2009 when Lopez sexually assaulted a boy starting when he was 3 years old, the district attorney’s office said. Twenty-one of the crimes involved substantial sexual conduct.
When Lopez is sentenced in Tulare County Superior Court on Sept. 28, he faces 330 years to life in prison. He will also have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Ashleigh Panoo: 559-441-6010, @AshleighPan
This story was originally published August 2, 2017 at 2:31 PM with the headline "He’s convicted of 22 counts of child molestation, and his youngest victim was only 3."