On March 2, 2020 Jose Angel Melgar Guardado, 42, was sentenced to 18 to 27 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to multiple child sex charges in Conover, NC. His victims were a 13-year-old girl, a nine-year-old boy, and a five-year-old girl.
Guardado will have to register as a sex offender for a period of 30 years and is subject to deportation upon his release from prison.
In July 2018 the 13-year-old female victim told The Catawba County Department of Social Services that she had been touched in inappropriate places and Guardado made her perform various sexual acts on him, including oral sex before he raped her.
The boy was physically assaulted by Guardado on two occasions, including one time when he saw Guardado sexually assaulting the 13-year-old female victim. The 5-year-old girl said she saw Guardado inappropriately touching the teen girl.
Guardado admitted to drinking alcohol before striking and sexually touching the victims. Guardado said he made a big mistake. The victims testified in court.
