NORRISTOWN — An Upper Merion Township man admitted he endangered a teenage boy when he asked the boy to engage in a sex act with him on multiple occasions.
Alejandro Ceron-Moranchel, 49, of the 100 block of Nancys Lane, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 20 months already served to 23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a child in connection with incidents that occurred in Upper Merion between 2019 and 2021.
At the time of the incidents, the boy was between 14 and 16 years of age and Ceron-Moranchel was between 44 and 46 years of age. The incidents occurred when the victim was in the company of Ceron-Moranchel on multiple occasions.
Specifically, with the guilty plea, Ceron-Moranchel admitted that he violated a duty of care when he requested that the boy perform a sex act on him on multiple occasions.
Ceron-Moranchel pleaded guilty to the charge shortly before jury selection was to begin for his trial.
Judge Thomas C. Branca, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, also ordered Ceron-Moranchel to complete three years of probation consecutive to parole, meaning Ceron-Moranchel will be under court supervision for about five years.
Ceron-Moranchel will be placed under sex offender supervision. The judge ordered Ceron-Moranchel to have no contact with the victim as a condition of the sentence.
The victim, now 19, who was supported in court by family members, looked on in the courtroom as Ceron-Moranchel admitted his guilt.
Assistant District Attorney Gabriella Eileen Glenning sought the jail sentence against Ceron-Moranchel, arguing he took advantage of a vulnerable child.
“When you have someone violate you and take your innocence away when you are growing up, when you are 14 you are still a kid, I think the trauma that you face from that is indescribable. I don’t think I can put into words the trauma that it has caused the victim. But I think (the guilty plea) provided a piece of closure to help them move forward,” said Glenning, who handled the case with co-prosecutor Siobhan Alexandria Harding.
Other charges of indecent assault of a child, statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, corruption of minors and indecent exposure were dismissed against Ceron-Moranchel as part of the plea agreement.
Testimony revealed that Ceron-Moranchel, who was represented by defense lawyer Stephen P. Patrizio, will be paroled directly to the custody of U.S. immigration officials who have lodged a detainer against him and he will face an immigration proceeding and possibly face deportation. Ceron-Moranchel, speaking with the assistance of a Spanish interpreter in court, told the judge he has consulted with an immigration lawyer and understands the additional consequences he could be facing as a result of his guilty plea.
The investigation began in January 2023 when the victim, then 18, disclosed Ceron-Moranchel’s conduct to child advocates and detectives. The victim reported that Ceron-Moranchel stated “we can do things together” when the pair was alone together, according to a criminal complaint filed by Upper Merion Detective Constance H. Marinello.
The victim reported Ceron-Moranchel exposed himself and requested a sex act from the victim on multiple occasions when they were alone together at various locations in the township, according to the arrest affidavit.
“The victim stated that it happened a bunch of other times. Usually the same situation,” Marinello alleged in court documents.
Ceron-Moranchel, who was married, told the victim not to tell anyone, “that no one could know,” Marinello alleged.
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