OAKLAND — Federal prosecutors here have secured an indictment against a Pleasant Hill man accused of meeting two different teen girls online, bringing him to his home, and sexually abusing them on camera.
Alejandro Gabriel Sainz, 27, was already facing state charges after his shocking arrest late last year, when Pleasant Hill police said two missing girls from two different parts of California were recovered at the same time in his apartment. Sainz still faces 14 pending state charges of committing a lewd act upon a child, sodomy, possessing and control of material depicting sex abuse, and unlawful sexual intercourse.
But now prosecutors have added a federal indictment to the mix, charging Sainz with receipt and possessing of child pornography. The receipt count carries a minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 20, court records show.
Sainz was arraigned Thursday morning and didn’t contest his detention pending the outcome of the case, authorities said.
Authorities allege that Sainz met both victims online and brought them to his home in separate incidents. After he was arrested last year, police reportedly found evidence on his phone that he’d contacted other minors. The two missing teens had reportedly been in his apartment for several days.
Sainz was residing on the 600 block of Old Quarry Road in Pleasant Hill when he was arrested, authorities said.
Staff writer Rick Hurd contributed reporting