A 32-year-old man from Mancelona was arraigned in Antrim County on Friday, November 6, on felony charges of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, second-degree child abuse and third-degree child abuse, after a Michigan State Police investigation into the alleged abuse of his two stepchildren, both under the age of 13, according to the Michigan State Police account reported by 9&10 News. Julio Gomez-Alfonzo is lodged in the Antrim County Jail on a $500,000 bond, and his next court appearance is scheduled for November 18. The children are not named in this report, in line with the protection of minor victims; no details beyond their ages and the nature of the charges have been released by authorities.
Source: 9&10 News (WWTV), reporting Michigan State Police, Gaylord Post (Nov. 6, 2026)
A complaint in Mancelona on November 1
The case began on November 1, when a Michigan State Police trooper from the Gaylord Post responded to a complaint in the Village of Mancelona, a small community in Antrim County in Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula. According to the State Police, the investigation that followed indicated that Gomez-Alfonzo had allegedly assaulted his two stepchildren, both under the age of 13 — one child allegedly sexually abused, and the second child allegedly physically abused in a non-sexual manner. Police have released no further detail about the alleged incidents, and none is published here.
After the investigation, the case was reviewed by the Antrim County Prosecutor, who authorised charges, and a felony arrest warrant was issued for Gomez-Alfonzo. Troopers arrested him on Thursday, November 5, and lodged him in the Antrim County Jail, where he remained after Friday's arraignment.
The arraignment in 86th District Court
Gomez-Alfonzo was arraigned on Friday, November 6, in the 86th District Court on three counts: second-degree criminal sexual conduct, second-degree child abuse and third-degree child abuse, according to 9&10 News. The court set bond at $500,000, cash or surety. The arraignment is the first formal court step in a Michigan felony case — the stage at which the charges are read, bond is set and the next dates are fixed. The charges are allegations only: Gomez-Alfonzo is presumed innocent, and prosecutors will have to prove each count in court. No plea was reported in the coverage reviewed.
What the charges mean in Michigan law
Criminal sexual conduct in the second degree, under Michigan Compiled Laws 750.520c, covers sexual contact — as distinct from penetration, which is charged in the first degree — where an aggravating circumstance applies, and one of those circumstances is a victim under the age of 13. It is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Where a defendant aged 17 or older is convicted of an offence against a child under 13, Michigan law additionally imposes lifetime electronic monitoring, and an offence of this kind against a child under 13 falls in the highest, lifetime registration tier of Michigan's Sex Offenders Registration Act. Those consequences apply only on conviction, which has not happened in this case.
The two child-abuse counts are separate allegations about the treatment of the children. Michigan's child-abuse statute grades offences by the seriousness of the harm and the intent alleged, with second-degree child abuse charged where a child is alleged to have suffered serious harm through an act or a knowing failure to act, and third-degree covering a knowing or intentional act that poses an unreasonable risk of harm or injury. Prosecutors must prove the specific elements of each degree at trial; the State Police account does not publish the underlying incident details, and this report does not speculate about them.
How a case like this moves through the courts
With Friday's arraignment complete, the case stays in district court for its early stages, where a felony defendant is ordinarily entitled to a preliminary examination — a hearing at which a judge decides whether there is enough evidence for the case to proceed to circuit court for trial. Bond can be revisited at those hearings. Gomez-Alfonzo's next scheduled appearance is November 18 in the 86th District Court. Until then he remains in the Antrim County Jail unless the $500,000 bond is posted.
Cases involving child victims also move under strict protective rules in Michigan: the identities of minor victims are withheld from public reporting, court files in such cases are handled with restrictions, and reporting is limited to the charges and the process — which is why this article carries no names, photographs or identifying details for the children, and why the illustration above shows only a courthouse.
What happens next
The next public step is the November 18 court appearance in Antrim County. The Antrim County Prosecutor's office carries the case from here, and the State Police Gaylord Post conducted the investigation that produced the charges. Anyone with information relevant to an investigation of this kind would ordinarily be directed to the Michigan State Police Gaylord Post. For now, the verified facts are narrow and should stay that way: three felony charges filed, a $500,000 bond set, a defendant in jail, and two children whose privacy the process is required to protect.
Arraigned Nov. 6 in 86th District Court, Antrim County: second-degree criminal sexual conduct, second-degree and third-degree child abuse, all as allegations involving two stepchildren under 13. Bond $500,000 cash or surety. Next court date Nov. 18. The defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty; the children's identities are protected and are not published.