After a three-day trial, a jury in Contra Costa County convicted 29-year-old Martinez resident Alejandro Sanchez for attempting to meet who he thought was an underage girl for sex.

The jury found Sanchez guilty of three felonies including arranging to meet a minor for a lewd purpose, communicating with a minor for a sexual purpose and attempted lewd acts with a child.

The investigation started in January 2019, when Sanchez used a social media app to contact a female. The female told Sanchez she was only 14-year-old and a freshman in high school. After the pair chatted for one day, they agreed to meet in-person. On January 4, 2019, Investigators with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force went to a local park in Martinez that was the agreed upon meeting location and arrested Sanchez.

During the conversation with the minor, Sanchez complimented the minor and stated that “we need to cuddle then” and “you have a nice body” to her. During the course of the conversation, Sanchez made repeated remarks about the undercover officer’s physical appearance and expressed a desire to engage in sexual acts at his home alone with the underage girl.

The evidence presented at trial overwhelmingly showed Sanchez should have reasonably known that he was communicating with a minor and as a soccer coach and mandated reporter, he had sufficient facts to believe the person he was talking to was a minor.

Sanchez faces a maximum penalty of four years in state prison, fines and sex offender registration. Sanchez is a former youth soccer coach for the Lamorinda Soccer Club.