A jury convicted Andres Guerra, 48, of Hammond, late Wednesday on charges related to the sexual abuse of a young girl beginning in 2013. Guerra was found guilty on two counts of child molesting and faces decades in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for 11 a.m. on November 21 before Judge Gina Jones.
The victim testified on Tuesday, revealing that Guerra began molesting her when she was 10 or 11 years old, starting with inappropriate touching while she slept in two separate homes, according to an affidavit. Over time, Guerra’s ex-girlfriend, Stephanie Alvarado, 35, reportedly joined in the abuse, which continued until around October 2015.
The victim attempted to block out the trauma but later confided in a teacher at school. Alvarado is scheduled to stand trial on November 3 for one count of child molesting.
Defense lawyer John Cantrell argued Thursday that there was no corroborating evidence supporting the victim’s claims. During a pretrial hearing on Monday, he contended that the accusations were fabricated following an alleged fistfight between the victim and Alvarado on October 30, 2015. Alvarado pleaded guilty to charges related to that incident and received one year of probation.
Deputy Prosecutors Michael Stewart and Arturo Balcazar are handling the case.
Public records from Lake County indicate that Andres Guerra married Mellissa Guerra in 2019. Mellissa is a member of the Hammond School Board. Requests for comment from Hammond School Board President Carlotta Blake-King regarding how the conviction might impact Mellissa Guerra’s work were not answered.
Post-Tribune archives contributed to this report.
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