Convicted sex offender arrested again, charged with sexually abusing two teen girls

A Sanger man and convicted sex offender is in jail again and charged with sexually abusing two girls for more than 10 years.

Detectives with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office received reports on Jan. 4 from two teen girls who said Edward Lira, 53, had sexually abused them since 2005. Lira is not a relative but knew the girls from interactions with their family.

The next day, deputies went to Lira’s Fowler workplace and arrested him. Detectives later searched his home in the 3300 block of South Greenwood Avenue in Sanger.

Lira remains in Fresno County Jail on a $465,000 bail.

He is charged with six felonies, court records show. Three charges stem from 2006 and include: continuous sexual abuse of a child; oral copulation of a person under 14; and sexual penetration with a foreign object on a person under 14. The three additional charges from 2011 are: oral copulation of a child under 10; oral copulation of a person under 18; and sexual penetration of a victim with mental or physical disabilities.

Lira is a sex offender who was released from prison in 1999 after serving time for a conviction of oral copulation with a child under 14, the sheriff’s office said. He is listed on the California Megan’s Law website. At the time of his arrest, he was in compliance with registration requirements, the sheriff’s office said.

Detectives are seeking the public’s help to identify other possible victims. Anyone with information about Lira is asked to contact Sgt. Jeff Kertson at 559-600-8144 or the sheriff’s dispatch center at 559-600-3111. Tipsters can reference case number 18-197.

This story was originally published January 10, 2018 at 4:14 PM with the headline "Convicted sex offender arrested again, charged with sexually abusing two teen girls."