The individual accused of abducting, sexually assaulting, and killing 9-year-old Diana Alvarez in 2016 has agreed to a life sentence as part of a plea bargain.
Jorge Guerrero-Torres, a 35-year-old resident of Punta Gorda, faced charges of capital first-degree murder, kidnapping, and lewd and lascivious molestation of the young girl from San Carlos Park, whose remains were discovered four years later. A grand jury in Lee County indicted Guerrero-Torres on all three counts on May 3, 2018.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, the state dismissed the lewd and lascivious molestation charges, and Guerrero-Torres, who initially faced the possibility of the death penalty, accepted a life sentence.
State Attorney Amira Fox stated, “This life sentence, which is one of two potential sentences he faced, ensures that this monster will be in prison to stay, with no automatic appeals and the alleviation of many potential post conviction filings.” She added that the resolution spares Diana’s family from the ordeal of a trial.
Diana Alvarez was last seen by her family on May 29, 2016, at their residence in south Lee County.
Following Diana’s disappearance, authorities apprehended Guerrero-Torres, detaining him for questioning in Okeechobee County for approximately three days. Over a year later, on August 15, 2017, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office disclosed that Guerrero-Torres faced two felony charges related to the case.
Investigators located Guerrero-Torres’ cellphone in Daytona Beach using a geolocation device, leading them to a witness who had found and charged the device to identify the owner.
The discovery of Alvarez’s remains occurred on March 13, 2020.
Lee Circuit Judge Margaret Steinbeck emphasized the time sensitivity of the case to Guerrero-Torres, his legal counsel, and the state prosecutors. Failure to reach a plea agreement by the specified deadline would have expedited the commencement of a trial.
Despite encountering language barriers and misunderstandings earlier in the process, Guerrero-Torres ultimately agreed to the plea deal on the specified date.
In a separate legal matter involving an officer-involved shooting, a motion filed on December 6, 2022, successfully challenged the admissibility of Guerrero-Torres’ statements made during the initial questioning period following his arrest in Okeechobee County.
Guerrero-Torres had various pending motions, including a comprehensive 81-page motion asserting that the death penalty violated his constitutional rights.
Furthermore, Guerrero-Torres had been convicted on federal child pornography charges related to the same victim, receiving a 40-year federal prison sentence for possessing explicit images of the girl on his cellphone.
Tomas Rodriguez, a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press, can be contacted at [email protected] or 772-333-5501. He is also available on Threads, Instagram, and Facebook.