Yreka man sentenced to 29 years for sexually abusing children

A Yreka man was sentenced on Tuesday to 29 years in state prison for sexually abusing three children, all of whom were 13 years old or younger, according to the Siskiyou County District Attorney’s Office.

Edwin Ernesto Alfaro-Lopez, 36, plead guilty to the charges on July 26, which included continuous sexual abuse of a child, and two counts and one attempt to commit lewd acts on a child under 14, the district attorney’s office said in a press release Thursday.

District Attorney Kirk Andrus reviewed the Alfaro-Lopez case in 2021 after sheriff’s offices in Siskiyou, Del Norte and Sacramento counties investigated Alfaro-Lopez for child sexual abuse, the district attorney’s office said. Andrus presented the case to the Criminal Grand Jury in November 2021, at which time the Grand Jury indicted Alfaro-Lopez for sexual abuse of two victims.

In early 2022, Alfaro-Lopez sexually abused a third victim. “With parental support," that person reported the abuse to law enforcement, then "testified to ongoing sexual abuse by the defendant. The Grand Jury indictment was amended to include the new charges."

Under California law, Alfaro-Lopez will have to serve at least 85% of his 29-year prison sentence, Andrus said.

Many victims of sexual abuse “suffer in silence,” Andrus said. “Until now, these three brave victims were among those who had received no justice for their suffering, and other children were in danger of the same treatment. This is another step toward a county that is safer for children, and there is much more work to do.”

Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and entertainment stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.