A former school bus driver for the Morongo Unified School District, accused of child pornography and child sexual abuse, accepted a plea bargain Friday. Alex Gomez, 57, of Twentynine Palms, pleaded guilty to two counts of lewd acts with a child and possession of child pornography in exchange for dropping a charge of using a concealed camera. In May, investigators told of finding a camera’s memory card in which Gomez secretly shot videos up the skirts of young girls, and fondled a 4-year-old girl on his bus. In addition, a CD with 26 photos of child pornography was found in Gomez’s home. While Gomez requested an immediate sentencing, Judge Rodney Cortez granted a continuance until July 10 so that the prosecution could present victim impact statements. Cortez also denied Gomez’s request to not be present during the victims’ statements. Alex Gomez will be sentenced July 10 and faces up to six years in prison.
