A Salinas man was sentenced Thursday in Monterey County Superior Court to 12 years in state prison for committing lewd acts on a child under the age of 14 and contacting a minor for a lewd purpose.
Judge Larry Hayes handed down the sentence to Pedro Lopez, 24, for luring a 12-year-old girl over the internet to meet with him in his car for sex on Nov. 16, according to prosecutors.
The judge also ordered Lopez to register as a sex offender for life, prosecutors said.
When the teen went missing, her brother checked her Facebook account and found messages between Lopez and the girl, prosecutors said.
The messages included instructions from Lopez telling the teen how to sneak out of her home and advising her to tell no one. In the messages, Lopez also told the girl he loved her and that he would take her to Mexico to get married, according to prosecutors.
The family went to look for the girl at various locations and eventually located Lopez's vehicle at a concert venue in a dark parking lot, prosecutors said.
The family discovered Lopez molesting the 12-year-old in the passenger seat of his car, according to prosecutors.
Lopez told the responding officer that he was aware of the girl's age and admitted to committing the lewd acts, prosecutors said.
Man Sentenced for Using Facebook to Meet With 12-Year-Old for Sex
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