Merced woman convicted of sex with teenager gets probation, must register as sex offender
A 40-year-old woman arrested by Merced police for having sex with a teenage boy she met on social media will serve two years probation.
Mia Novena Mercado, 40, waived her right to a jury trial after pleading no contest last month to felony charges of having sex with a minor and furnishing marijuana to a minor.
The no contest plea was part of a plea agreement with the Merced County District Attorney’s Office, according to Mercado’s attorney Curtis Sok. She had been in custody since April 2019 and was released in early January this year.
Other charges, including committing a lewd act upon a minor and violating a court protective order, were dismissed last month. Had the case went to trial, she could have faced four years in prison.
Despite the conviction, Sok said his client maintains her innocence., saying she is a “good and moral” person. “She isn’t a sexual predator at all,” Sok told the Sun-Star on Thursday. “She’s never been in trouble before this and has no record at all.”
As part of her sentence, Mercado was ordered by Judge Ronald Hansen to not use social media.
She is also ordered to not have any contact with children except her own grandchildren. The court ruled she can attend school functions for her grandchildren.
She must register as a sex offender, according to her attorney.
The conviction stems from a 2019 incident when she harbored the teenage boy from Merced. According to court documents, the teen ran away from home and came to stay with Mercado.
Mercado had responded to a message he posted on Instagram, according to police reports. They later met in person and when the boy came to stay with Mercado, she gave him alcohol and marijuana until he got drunk and high. She then molested him, police reports show.
Police reports indicate after she was arrested by the Merced Police Department and charged with child sex crimes, she continued to contact the boy and threatened to “expose him online.”
During his time away from home, the boy’s mother contacted other children she knew to be his friends. She asked those friends about her son’s location. They told her about how he had been talking about having a sexual relationship with an older woman, according to police reports.
When the boy’s mother confronted him about the relationship, she asked for his phone to see if there was any communication between the two. She found inappropriate messages, and called the police immediately, according to police reports.
This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Merced woman convicted of sex with teenager gets probation, must register as sex offender."