DA: Man pleads guilty to luring 13-year-old girl from horse barn, raping her

Written by: A. Smith

Published October 6, 2025 @ 10:01 AM ET

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. – A Gwinnett County man will serve two decades in prison after pleading guilty to raping a 13-year-old girl after he lured her from a barn where she was petting horses to a camper he was staying at nearby, according to the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s office.

Sergio Palomares-Guzman, 36, pleaded guilty in a Gwinnett County court on Tuesday to multiple charges, including rape, aggravated child molestation, child molestation, enticing a child for indecent purposes, false imprisonment and first-degree cruelty to children for the crime that happened in June 2023.

He was sentenced to 30 years, with the first 20 to be served in prison without parole. He will be deported after completing his sentence, the district attorney’s office said.

Police learned of the crime when they were called out to a home in Grayson in June 2023, where the child told police what had happened. Investigators later confirmed that forensic DNA evidence was found in the girl’s underwear and linked Palomares-Guzman to the crime.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Mikaela Henderson and the Special Victims Unit, which focuses on crimes involving vulnerable individuals.

Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said in a statement: “We pray that this plea and sentence bring recovery and closure to the victim and her family.”