A Kern County jury convicted a 31-year-old man Monday on six felony counts, including forcible sodomy of a child under 14, aggravated kidnapping with intent to rape, and continuous sexual abuse of a child, prosecutors said.

Pablo Garcia Perez also was convicted of exhibiting harmful matter to a minor, possession of child pornography, and forcible lewd touching of a child, according to the Kern County District Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors said three of the convictions carry mandatory sentences of life without the possibility of parole.

According to prosecutors, the victim reported in October 2022 that Perez, a family member, had sexually abused the child beginning in 2021. Authorities said Perez lied about where he was taking the victim in order to get the child into his car, then drove to rural areas near Arvin where he committed multiple forcible sex acts.

Prosecutors said Perez threatened to kidnap the child if the victim refused to engage in sexual acts or reported the abuse to adults. Authorities also said Perez used threats to obtain nude photographs from the victim, showed pornography to the child, and sent explicit photos of himself through his cellphone.

The district attorney’s office said law enforcement investigators and medical examinations corroborated the victim’s account. Prosecutors said Perez later admitted to many of the crimes after investigators confronted him with evidence from his cellphone.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 16.

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