Salinas man pleads no contest to forcible child molestation of family member

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) A Salinas man pleaded no contest to five counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14 involving force or duress, according to the Monterey County District Attorney's Office.

In October 2019, a 7-year-old girl told her mother that 26-year-old Marco Antonio Sanchez, who is a biological family member, was touching her. The girl said he touched her private parts with his private parts every time she visited him for a few months. She said she did not like it and would kick or tell him to stop, but said he did not.

The claim was reported to Salinas police. Her 10-year-old brother told officers that he was sometimes in the room during the incidents and saw the abuse. He said once he tried to stop it, but Sanchez threw him to the ground. The boy also told officers that Sanchez made him face a wall during the abuse and would threaten to hurt him if he turned around and watched. Her brother said he often heard her tell Sanchez to stop.

Law enforcement told the girl's mother to confront Sanchez while wearing a recording device, and the DA's Office said she accused Sanchez of molesting her daughter during the confrontation. Sanchez allegedly did not deny that he molested the girl, but would not say what he did. The DA's Office said he acknowledged that he was an animal and failed to protect her, but blamed the mother for leaving her with him. In the conversation, he allegedly agreed that he should not be around the girl and blamed drug use for the molestation.

Sanchez will be sentenced in March. He is expected to receive a stipulated sentence of 25 years in prison and be required to register as a sex offender for life.