Salinas man sentenced to prison for sexual abuse of two children, lewd and lascivious acts on third

A Salinas man was sentenced by a Monterey County judge to 75 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of continuous sexual abuse of two children under 14 and lewd and lascivious acts on a third child under the age of 14.

39-year-old Alexander Telcalco Cortez was dating the victims’ grandmother for 10 years and helped her care for the victims and other children while their parents were at work.

Cortez started sexually abusing the victims when they were 7 or 8 years old, and when the oldest victim turned 13, he stopped abusing her, investigators said. The two younger children were abused for a period of up to three years until the abuse was reported in August 2018.

The judge gave Cortex the maximum sentenced and ordered that he register as a sex offender for life. He will also have to pay restitution to the victims and have no contact with them or their families.