Almaguer pleads guilty on four counts
Lupe Almaguer of Mammoth Lakes, the former daycare provider who was accused of sexual abuse against several children previously under his care, plead guilty to all four criminal charges during a pretrial conference in Mono County Superior Court on Dec. 14.
Almaguer was originally arrested on Oct. 5 on five counts of Performing Lewd and Lascivious Acts on a Child 14 or under. District Attorney Todd Graham then filed four felony complaints against Almaguer, which means the two original complaintants were joined by two new alleged victims with similar sexual abuse complaints, bringing the total number of complaints/potential victims to four.
None of the victims were identified by name, and of the four who were abused by Almaguer, three are now adults. The fourth victim is still a juvenile. Some of the abuse ranges from as early as 1995 to as late as 2009.
Almaguer had previously plead not guilty to all four complaints. After confirming that Almaguer was to have zero contact with the two new individuals that had made complaints, as well as the original two, the case was continued to the Dec. 14 pretrial conference.
Appearing before Judge Stan Eller, Almaguer and his attorney, Public Defender David Hammon, waived rights to a pretrial hearing, a jury trial and other associated rights and processes. A stoic, calm Almaguer listened as each count was read.
The pleas now mean that Almaguer faces a total punishment range of 15-years-to-life up to and including 60-years-to-life, for all four counts. Graham said that because the defendant committed sexual abuse against more than one victim (4 in total), each count is subject to PC 667.61(b) (the “one strike” law), which punishes much more harshly those defendants who molest more than one victim, when each victim is under 14 years of age at the time of the crime.
Graham also brought to the court’s attention interviews and other evidence associated with and uncharged 5th count, stemming from another unidentified victim known to the prosecution. Eller advised Hammon and his client, as well as DA Graham, that the evidence, while not part of the guilty plea, will be allowed for possible use during the sentencing phase.
Almaguer isn’t eligible for parole per se, and will have to go through a parole hearing process. In the meantime, he faces other procedures, such as being entered in a sex offender registry, and testing by the Probation Department for what, if any, proclivity he may have toward repeat offenses.
If granted parole, however, he could well be subject to as much as 15 years observation in the parole system, along with other stringent requirements, such as GPS tracking.
Sentencing is set for Feb. 15 at 1:30 p.m. before Judge Mark Magit.
