Alabama Man Found Guilty Of 100 Child Sex Crimes, Including Rape

KEY POINTS

Fuentes was found guilty of more than 100 charges involving child pornography, sexual abuse and rape
He faces a minimum prison sentence of 20 years
Fuentes' trial was the first in the county since the pandemic closed down courts

An Alabama man was found guilty of more than 100 charges involving child pornography, sexual abuse and rape.

A Lauderdale County jury found Juan Fuentes guilty of rape, sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a child under age 12 and 51 counts each of production and possession of child pornography, according to WAFF-TV. He faces a minimum prison sentence of 20 years.

Fuentes was arrested and indicted in 2018 after he was accused of raping and sexually abusing two children under the age of 12, WHNT-TV reported. Investigators said Fuentes was a family friend of the victims.

His trial this week, the first in the county since the COVID-19 pandemic closed down courts, saw jurors listen to testimonies from Fuentes' victims, their families and expert witnesses.

Dozens of pornographic images were found on multiple devices that belonged to Fuentes, prosecutors said. In response to the allegations, Fuentes' defense team said the metadata for the images could have been manipulated and that the dates could have been changed to frame him.

According to Assistant District Attorney Angie Hamilton, a brother of one of the victims testified that he saw Fuentes spiking the victim's milk with Benadryl before going to bed. The drug is an antihistamine with side effects that include dizziness, drowsiness and confusion.

A similar incident occured last week when a man from Casper, Wyoming, was arrested after he allegedly gave a 13-year-old girl methamphetamine and produced child porn with her.

Court documents showed Salvador Salas faces multiple charges, including two counts of second degree sexual abuse of a minor, two counts of sexual exploitation of children, child endangerment of methamphetamine and distribution of a controlled substance to a minor.

Authorities were alerted to Salas after the girl was brought to a hospital from what appeared to be methamphetamine ingestion and told investigators of Salas' actions.

Police reportedly found hundreds of videos of child pornography on Salas' computer, some that include the 13-year-old victim.