United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California

09/08/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/08/2021 13:16

San Pablo Man Pleads Guilty To Sexual Coercion Of A 3-Year-Old Girl

OAKLAND - Adalberto Borja Guardado pleaded guilty yesterday in Oakland federal court to enticement and coercion of a minor, announced Acting United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Tatum King.

In his plea agreement, Guardado, 67, of San Pablo, admitted that on September 9, 2019, a three-year-old girl visited his residence with her mother, who provided home health care to Guardado's elderly mother. Guardado agreed to watch the girl while the girl's mother provided the home care in another part of the residence. Guardado admitted in his plea agreement that within a few minutes of watching the girl, he pulled down the girl's pants and touched her vagina with his fingers. He further admitted that he used his cell phone to record his touching of the girl's vagina.

Guardado was charged by criminal information in federal court on June 10, 2021, with enticement and coercion of a minor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b). The penalty for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b) is a maximum imprisonment term of life in prison, with a mandatory minimum imprisonment term of ten years, and a fine of $250,000. However, any sentence imposed by a court will occur only after the court's consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Guardado's sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 11, 2022, in United States District Court in Oakland before the Honorable Jeffrey S. White, United States District Judge. Guardado remains in custody while awaiting his sentencing.

Jonathan U. Lee is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case, with the assistance of Leeya Kekona, Kay Konopaske, and Kathleen Turner. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, the Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the San Pablo Police Department.