A Sacramento jury convicted a man of 14 counts of child sexual assault and two counts of child pornography involving a teenager with whom he was a close family friend.
Marc Mendoza, 32, began touching the girl when she was about 13, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office. Mendoza forced the girl to take nude photos and provide her phone to him to view the pictures.
The girl reported Mendoza sexually assaulted her 70 to 80 times over the course of one year, according to prosecuors. She disclosed some of the abuse to others but it was not reported to law enforcement, officials said.
It wasn’t until the girl called a friend, crying, in March 2020 and told her about the abuse that an investigation was sparked. The friend’s mother overheard the conversation, spoke to the girl and called 911, prosecutors said.
Mendoza faces a maximum sentence of 126 years, 8 months in state prison at a March 3 hearing. He is being held at the Sacramento County Main Jail and is ineligible for bail.
