A California sheriff says a man wanted for incest and child abuse fathered both his 14-year-old daughter’s baby and the girl herself was carrying, and that baby was later found dead beside a rural road.
Story Snapshot
- Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto says Sergio Galvez Perez is the biological father of his 14-year-old daughter’s newborn and is wanted on incest and child abuse charges.
- The newborn, called Baby Angelita by investigators, was found dead near Struve Road outside Moss Landing on August 1.
- Deputies believe the teen gave birth on the roadside, left the baby there, and walked away.
- A 2023 ICE detainer tied to a DUI arrest was reportedly not honored under California’s sanctuary law, reviving debate over local cooperation with federal immigration agents.
Manhunt Follows Discovery of Newborn’s Death
Monterey County deputies found a newborn girl dead near Struve Road in north Monterey County on August 1. Investigators later said they believe the baby’s teenage mother gave birth beside the road, set the infant on the ground, and left the scene. The sheriff’s office launched a search for both the 14-year-old mother and her father, warning residents not to approach either one if spotted.
Sheriff Tina Nieto’s office issued public alerts asking anyone who saw Sergio Galvez Perez or his daughter to call 911 immediately rather than confront them. The office listed two detectives, Richard Geng and Nicholas Kennedy, as contacts for tips, and said information could be submitted anonymously. As of the most recent public statements, authorities had not announced an arrest in the case.
My latest for @WesternJournalX
Manhunt in Monterey County for Sergio Galvez Perez, an illegal immigrant wanted on incest and child sex charges after investigators said he fathered a baby with his 13-year-old daughter.
The infant was found dead by the roadside. Officials say he…
— Anon B (@RealAnonB) September 3, 2026
Sheriff Confirms Father’s Identity In Both Cases
Nieto’s office confirmed a disturbing detail tying the two investigations together. “We can now confirm that Sergio Galvez Perez is the biological father of the 14-year-old murder suspect, and the biological father of Baby Angelita,” Nieto said. Perez faces felony warrants for incest, lewd acts on a minor, unlawful sexual intercourse, child concealment, and child endangerment, according to county officials and multiple news outlets covering the case.
2023 Detainer Dispute Puts Sanctuary Law in Spotlight
Conservative outlet The Gateway Pundit reported that federal immigration agents issued a detainer for Perez back in July 2023, after he was arrested on a drunk driving charge. The outlet says California authorities did not honor that request, allowing Perez to remain free in the years before the current warrants were issued. That claim comes from a single partisan source, and no jail booking record or ICE paperwork confirming the exact release circumstances has been made public.
An ICE detainer is not an arrest warrant. It is a request asking a local jail to hold someone up to 48 hours past their normal release time so federal agents can take custody, according to the American Immigration Council. Detainers are voluntary for local police, not mandatory, which is why sanctuary laws can block them without violating federal court rulings.
California’s Sanctuary Law Bars Local Cooperation
California’s sanctuary statute, often called SB 54, restricts how local police and jails can work with ICE. A 2018 report on the state’s legal fight with the Department of Justice noted plainly that “California prohibits any and all ICE detainers” under state law, calling the detainer ban a cornerstone of the sanctuary system. That means county jails across the state, including Monterey County, are generally barred from holding someone solely because ICE asked.
Monterey County’s own leaders have gone further than just following state law. The county Board of Supervisors publicly stated its preference that the Sheriff’s Office avoid cooperating with ICE outside the criminal justice system, even in cases where cooperation isn’t legally required. That local policy choice, layered on top of the statewide detainer ban, forms the backdrop against which critics are now questioning why Perez remained free after his 2023 arrest.
Research on Sanctuary Policies Shows Mixed Results
Academic studies on sanctuary policies and crime rates do not point in one clear direction. A 2020 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found sanctuary policies cut deportations by about a third but had no measurable effect on overall crime rates. Other researchers have found similar results, while advocacy groups on the enforcement side point to specific cases, like this one, as evidence that detainer refusals carry real risks.
My latest for @WesternJournalX
Manhunt in Monterey County for Sergio Galvez Perez, an illegal immigrant wanted on incest and child sex charges after investigators said he fathered a baby with his 13-year-old daughter.
The infant was found dead by the roadside. Officials say he…
— Anon B (@RealAnonB) September 3, 2026
No records confirming the exact custody timeline of the 2023 arrest, including jail logs or ICE correspondence, have been released publicly. The medical examiner has not yet released a cause of death for the newborn. Those gaps leave key questions open even as the sheriff’s search for Perez and his daughter continues, with investigators still asking the public for help locating them both.
Sources:
thegatewaypundit.com, abc7news.com, sfchronicle.com, countyofmonterey.gov, cbsnews.com, middleamericanews.com