A former San Diego County sheriff's deputy Wednesday changed his plea to guilty on multiple charges, including child sex abuse and possession of child pornography.
Jose Soto Jr. was arrested in May and charged with possession of child pornography and an assault weapon.
In addition to his guilty pleas on the child pornography charge, Soto pleaded guilty to one count of lewd and lascivious acts on a child and one count of continuous child sexual abuse.
Under California code, a "continuous sexual abuse of a child" charge applies to a person who has regular access to a child under 14 and has committed three or more lewd acts on them for three or more months.
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At Soto's arraignment, Deputy District Attorney Carder Chan told reporters that police were acting on a "report" when they searched his Chula Vista home on May 2. At that time, investigators seized several of Soto's devices and what Chan referred to as an assault weapon.
The initial investigation led to those additional charges involving two young victims, Chan told NBC 7 after the hearing.
A close family friend of one of those victims told NBC 7 she was relieved by the guilty plea because it means they won't have to endure a lengthy trial.
Soto is set to be sentenced next month. He is facing 15 years to life in prison, plus another six years and eight months. He will be required to register as a sex offender for life.
