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Man, 54, pleads guilty to abusing child in Calvert
Prosecution in St. Mary's still possible
Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2009
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A man who molested a young boy over an extended period of time pleaded guilty Monday in Calvert County Circuit Court to one count of child abuse of a minor and one count of sex abuse of a minor.
With the help of a Spanish interpreter, 54-year-old Felix Alejandro Pinto Salinas entered a guilty plea to child abuse of a minor for offenses dating from September 1999 to September 2000 and pleaded guilty to sex abuse of a minor for offenses between October 2002 and September 2004.
The defendant, who asked to be called Pinto, was originally charged with a dozen counts of child abuse and six counts of sexual abuse to a minor after the victim came forward and told police in Calvert about the abuse, charging documents state.
The victim, now 17 and living in New Jersey, told a Calvert County Sheriff's Office detective in August 2008 that Pinto drove him in a van to community centers and restaurant parking lots where Pinto performed sexual acts, according to charging documents.
Assistant State's Attorney Kathryn Marsh said the plea deal agrees to forgo prosecution on other charges and there will be no additional indictments in Calvert County.
However, the plea does not include St. Mary's County and that county still has the right to file "whatever charges they may bring forth," Marsh said.
"These specific incidents occurred only in Calvert County," she said of his guilty plea.
Pinto lived in St. Mary's County when he was indicted and the victim stated in court documents that the abuse occurred both in Calvert and St. Mary's counties.
Marsh said the sentencing guidelines for the two guilty pleas were from 15 to 28 years of incarceration, but Pinto's attorney, Public Defender Mary Katherine Fowler, said the sentencing guidelines called for 14 to 17 years.
Judge Warren Krug, who accepted Pinto's plea after Krug was reassured by the defendant's interpreter that Pinto understood his rights. Krug repeated that Pinto could still be prosecuted in St. Mary's County and that the Calvert judge does not need to go by the guidelines when sentencing.
"I could impose 40 years. That's the maximum, 20 years for each charge you're pleading guilty to," Krug said.
Marsh said the state requests a presentence investigation and Krug scheduled an April 27 sentencing date.
