Man Admits To Sexual Assault, Torture And Abuse Of Young Children In Cypress

SANTA ANA, CA — A 45-year-old Cypress man pleaded guilty Tuesday to the torture, sexual assault and abuse of multiple children and was immediately sentenced to 32 years in jail.

Douglas Michael Alba pleaded guilty to one count each of torture and child abuse and endangerment, four counts of corporal injury on a child, and two counts each of sodomy by force involving a child 14 or older, sexual penetration of a child older than 14, lewd acts on a child 14 or 15, and forcible oral copulation of a minor 14 or older. He also admitted a sentencing enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury on a victim.

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Orange County Superior Court Judge Larry Yellin made the plea deal offer to Alba and sentenced him to 32 years and four months in prison. Alba received credit for 2,142 days behind bars.

Co-defendant Jennifer Stewart pleaded guilty Dec. 4 to a misdemeanor count of being an accessory after the fact and was sentenced to 232 days in jail.

It was unclear what relationship Alba and Stewart had with each other or with the two boys and two girls involved in the case.

Alba abused the children for nearly a year, according to prosecutors. The abuse was discovered by authorities when a 10-year-old boy was taken to the hospital in 2021 with black eyes, bleeding to the brain, and bruising all over the child's body.

Cypress police arrested Alba on Aug. 1, 2021.

He faced a maximum sites of 30 years to life in jail before reaching the plea deal.

"The scars of child abuse go far beyond the physical," Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said at the time of his arrest. "The psychological and emotional trauma these children were forced to endure shocks the conscience...We as a community have an obligation to protect the innocent and report any and all suspected child abuse to the authorities. We protect our children by speaking up."

City News Service contributed to this report.