Former O.C. school aide convicted in nude photos case

A former part-time aide at an Orange County elementary school was convicted Thursday of sending nude photos of himself to three boys and trying to meet one of them for sex acts, authorities said.

Miguel Antonio Mendoza, 21, was sentenced to 180 days in jail and lifetime sex-offender registration. Prosecutors said they had sought a 3-year prison sentence.

Mendoza, who worked in the after-school program at Villa Park Elementary School, met the victims in 2010 through an Internet cellphone application, according to the Orange County district attorney's office.

The boys were 11, 15 and 17 years old. Mendoza was charged with sending the three victims nude photos of himself and instructing them to send him photos of them naked, prosecutors said.

Mendoza was charged with with trying to meet the 11-year-old at a store in Fountain Valley to have sex, prosecutors said. But the boy's mother noticed inappropriate text messages and photos from Mendoza on her son's cellphone.

The mother contacted Fountain Valley police, who arrested Mendoza at the store. He had nude photos of the three victims on his cellphone.

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-- Robert J. Lopez

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Photo: Miguel Antonio Mendoza. Credit: Orange County district attorney's office