Ex-San Mateo County jail guard to be sentenced

(KRON) -- A former San Mateo County jail guard is slated to be sentenced on Friday for sexually abusing a nine-year-old girl.

Joel Olazabal Gudino, 31, is locked in the same jail where he previously worked as a correctional officer for the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office. He was convicted by a jury in March of forcible lewd acts on a child and contacting a minor to solicit a lewd act.

Gudino was a family friend and neighbor of the victim's family. He previously babysat the girl and her younger brother. Prosecutors said he molested the girl between 2012-2015, and he was hired by the sheriff's office in 2016. In 2017, he sent the victims messages through SnapChat that were "sexual in nature," and the San Mateo Police Department was alerted, prosecutors wrote.

Judge Kevin Dunleavy ruled that Olazabalgudino used a position of trust to abuse the girl. On Friday, Judge Dunleavy will sentence the former law enforcement officer. Gudino is represented by defense attorneys Paula Canny and Dek Ketchum. His attorneys filed a motion for a new trial.