Sex Offender Sentenced to 25 years to Life for Multiple Sexual Assaults Against Underaged Victims

On July 13, 2022, Defendant Emmanuel Cortes-Torres, 25 of Santa Rosa, CA, was sentenced by the Honorable Troye Shaffer to an indeterminate sentence of 25 years to life following his plea to several counts of sexual assault of a minor. 

District Attorney Jill Ravitch stated, “This predator has been given a sentence that will protect against future victimization, and hopefully provide those he preyed upon with a sense of justice served.”

The investigation into Cortes-Torres began in 2019 when a minor reported that Cortes-Torres was threatening her after she declined to sell drugs for him. During the investigation, detectives from the Santa Rosa Police Department obtained social media records for Cortes-Torres dating back to 2018. The records revealed that Cortes-Torres had been in communication with several minors and was attempting to arrange meetings with the minors for sexual purposes. Upon further examination of Cortes-Torres’ social media records, detectives located several sexually explicit photographs and videos of the minor victims. In total, detectives were able to identify 11 potential victims ranging in age from 10-years-old to 14-years-old.

During his crimes, Cortes-Torres exhibited a similar pattern of behavior with his victims. He would meet the victims through social media and engage in lewd conversations with them before meeting them in person. Often, Cortes-Torres would offer to buy them alcohol or give them drugs.

At the time of this investigation, Cortes-Torres was on formal probation having sustained a conviction for selling controlled substances. Due to his conviction, Cortes-Torres was prohibited from possessing firearms. Further searches of his social media accounts uncovered photos and videos of Cortes-Torres in possession of a firearm.

The case against Cortes-Torres’ was set to begin trial on April 8, 2022, however he opted instead to plead guilty to six felony counts. Cortes-Torres plead guilty to engaging in lewd conduct with minor victims, attempting to engage in lewd conduct, meeting a minor for lewd purposes, and possession of a firearm. The victims expressed gratitude for the sentence, and relief at knowing that Cortes-Torres faces a lifetime of imprisonment.

Recent California legislation now allows prison inmates, including Cortes-Torres, to be considered for parole after serving only 20 years of their sentence. Penal Code section 3051 originally went into effect in 2014, and with few exceptions allowed for inmates who were 25 years or younger at the time of their offense to be considered for release back into the community on parole after serving 20 years of their sentence.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Leslie Butori, assisted by District Attorney Investigator Dave Linscomb, and District Attorney Advocate Elizabeth Garcia. Tim Raymond of Santa Rosa Police Department headed the investigation.

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Contact Information: 
Carrie Trevena 
Media Coordinator
Office of the District Attorney
(707) 565-3098