Prosecutors seek death penalty for two West Palm men accused of sexually abusing child
It is the rare case in which prosecutors are seeking the state's highest penalty on a charge other than first-degree murder.
The case is the first in Palm Beach County where prosecutors have sought the state's highest punishment for an offense other than homicide.
In a statement released Oct. 3, the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office said it will seek the death penalty against Josue D. Mendez Sales, 27, and Pablo N. Cobon Mendez, 23, both of West Palm Beach.
A grand jury indicted them in August on charges of sexual battery on a child under 12. Mendez Sales and Cobon Mendez are facing two counts each of sexual battery.
The men have pleaded not guilty to all charges. Records show they are separately being represented by the Palm Beach County Public Defender's Office and the state Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel. As a matter of policy, the offices do not comment on active cases.
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It is at least the third death penalty filing since Alexcia Cox became the state attorney for Palm Beach County in January. It is rare for prosecutors to seek that punishment for crimes other than first-degree murder. State law allows them to pursue it for a narrow range of other offenses.
According to West Palm Beach police arrest reports, the child described to babysitters being sexually abused by both men. Police investigators said they each admitted to having sexual contact with the child on multiple occasions, saying the acts typically occurred while they were intoxicated.
“The crimes committed against this young child are among the most horrific imaginable," Cox said in a prepared statement. She called the "repeated abuse of a defenseless child" not only a violation of the law but "a violation of our deepest human values."
A judge sentenced Keen-Warren to 12 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. She was released from prison in November 2024 after being credited with time served and gain time.
The county's most recent death penalty trial occurred in 2023, when prosecutors sought to convict Larry Darnell Young of murder in the 2021 shooting death of a 16-year-old girl. A jury convicted him of manslaughter, sparing Young a second trial that would have determined whether he should be sentenced to death.
Buffalo area man found guilty of sexually abusing 2 young children
Edward K. Tutuska, 30, was found guilty of one count of Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child in the Second Degree, one count of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree and two counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child.
Investigators say that between March 1, 2023 and March 15, 2024, Tutuska engaged in multiple sex acts with a child who was less than 11-years-old in Orchard Park. Investigators say on March 16, 2024, Tutuska subjected another child under the age of 11-years-old to sexual acts. Tutuska was known to both victims.
Tutuska faces up to 14-years in prison when he is sentenced in April. He is currently being held without bail. Temporary orders of protection have been issued on behalf of both victims.
Lexington woman accused of possessing, distributing child sexual abuse material
LEXINGTON, S.C. (WIS) - A woman from Lexington has been arrested on five charges relating to the sexual exploitation of a minor.
The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office said 21-year-old Maria Seipel was arrested on Thursday, May 22 after investigators received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Investigators said Seipel engaged in criminal sexual conduct with a minor, and both possessed and distributed child sexual abuse material.
Seipel was charged with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, three counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
She faces up to 10 years in prison for each count of second and third degree sexual exploitation, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
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