Lang
2/16/24
A North Liberty man accused of having sex with a ten-year-old girl while he was a teenager has been convicted of two counts of 2nd Degree Sexual Abuse. He was acquitted of a third count on the same charge on Wednesday.
22-year-old Wilmer Garcia Espinal was 16 at the time of the incidents in July of 2017. He allegedly engaged in sexual intercourse with the then-ten-year-old victim at a residence in Iowa City. The victim provided child protection workers with a detailed account of the incident, as well as other incidents of abuse by Garcia Espinal. She also told authorities that he messaged her and asked her to be his girlfriend. He claimed the messages were taken out of context.
Police say evidence tying Garcia Espinal to the scene of the crimes includes a photo of him with the girl on one of the nights in question and metadata from the girl’s phone showing a photo of Garcia Espinal at the residence where at least one of the assaults took place.
Sentencing is set for April 19th. Garcia Espinal faces a maximum of 50 years in prison.