Sex offender who hid in Fresno home could face steepest ever punishment

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno man is now on trial for sex crimes with children after images on the internet helped a special task force find his hiding place.

Cornelio Jimenez could face the longest punishment ever handed out in a Fresno court.

"If he's in these child porn videos, he himself with these young children, there's no defense to that," legal analyst Tony Capozzi said. "None whatsoever."

Jimenez hid out in a central Fresno neighborhood for a year. A 1997 conviction in Washington state made him a sex offender for life, and he regularly updated his registration in Fresno but claimed to be homeless when he was really living in a home with two families and three children.

The Internet Crimes Against Children task force found him when a tip helped them trace hundreds of images to his computer here. But they also found evidence of more crimes.

"There were three children at the residence -- 7, 4 and 3 [years old] and they determined he was molesting them," Lt. Joe Gomez told us in June 2015.

Investigators found videos showing Jimenez engaging in sexual activity with the girls. They say he admitted to the crimes, and if he's convicted of everything, he could face a life sentence and more than 1882 years in prison -- the longest punishment ever coming out of Fresno County. But he has not agreed to plead guilty to the 36 charges he's facing right now, even turning down an offer of 75 years to life.

"Some people have suggested that he just wants to see the video once again, so as a defense attorney, would you let these videos in?" an Action News reporter asked Capozzi.

"I would not want those videos played before a jury," he said. "I think that would highly prejudice a jury against him."

Jimenez's public defender hasn't revealed a possible defense and chose not to deliver opening statements as the trial started Wednesday.

Capozzi says Jimenez may just want to force the government to go through the entire process.

"75 years to life or 1,800 years to life is not going to make a difference," he said.

The trial is expected to last two weeks.