CONOVER, N.C. — A Conover man will spend at least 18 years in prison following his conviction for sexual and physical assaults of multiple victims.
Jose Angel Melgar Guardado, 42, was sentenced to 18 to 27 years after he pleaded guilty to multiple child sex charges.
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.
His victims were a 13-year-old girl, a nine-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl.
The 13-year-old victim said she had been touched in inappropriate places and Guardado made her perform various sexual acts on him before he raped her.
The boy said he had been physically assaulted by Guardado on two occasions, including one time when he saw the defendant sexually assaulting the 13-year-old female victim.
The youngest girl said she also saw the defendant inappropriately touching the oldest victim.
Guardado told law enforcement that he had started drinking and admitting to striking and touching the victims and repeatedly said that he “made a big mistake.”
The victims testified in court and the judge commended them for having the courage to make their statements and confront the defendant.
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