Lee County sheriff: Charges filed against Jorge Guerrero-Torres in Diana Alvarez case

A day after a suspect in the disappearance of Diana Alvarez was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison, state authorities charged him with additional crimes against the girl. 

The Lee County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday that Jorge Guerrero-Torres has been charged with two felonies in the 2016 disappearance case of 9-year-old Diana.

Undersheriff Carmine Marceno said the charges include lewd or lascivious molestation of a victim less than 12 years of age and battery of a child.

"Our investigation leaves us confident that Jorge Guerrero-Torres played a role in Diana's disappearance," he said."Our focus has always been and continues to revolve around bringing Diana home."

Guerrero-Torres, 29, was sentenced Monday to 40 years for having sexually-explicit images of the girl on his cellphone. He was convicted in May.  

"These two charges are separate crimes from the child pornography charges," Marceno said.

"While we acknowledge the 40-year prison sentence ... this matter is far from over," Marceno said. "This monster will spend the next four decades in prison. We are doing everything possible and devoting every resource possible to locating Diana and bringing closure to her family."

Marceno also said Guerrero-Torres was under arrest at the LCSO headquarters on Tuesday undergoing further questioning in the case.

"I'm certain this won't be the last update on this case," Marceno said.

The undersheriff said that the LCSO had numerous major crimes unit investigators on the case and the investigation remained active.

"These investigators will continue to follow up on any and all leads received," he said. "We know Jorge Guerrero-Torres lived in the victim's residence. The facts indicate that (he) had an inappropriate relationship with Diana Alvarez when he lived at that residence. We are certain that (he) sexually abused Diana Alvarez."

The encounters recorded on his phone occurred when Diana was 8 years old and are as recent as December 2015 when the man was offered a room at her family's home in the Sheltering Pines community in south Fort Myers.

Diana went missing on May 29, 2016, and hasn't been seen since.

On Monday, her mother made a teary request for any information on that may lead to finding her daughter.

Thomas Busatta, an attorney who has been representing the family, said more charges could be filed in the future. 

Busatta said the sheriff's office has kept the family aware of the investigation. 

"We were all assured all the time they were waiting for sentencing," Busatta said. "This is not the end."

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More:Man linked to missing Diana Alvarez gets 40 years on child porn charges

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