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Jail ordered for sexual assault
McCOOK, Neb. -- A McCook man charged with sexually assaulting two young children, with alleged offenses dating back to 2003 and as recent as 2012, will serve less than two years in county jail following his sentencing earlier this week.
The offender, 66-year-old Benito Garcia of 906 E. Fifth Street, was convicted on two misdemeanor offenses and ordered to serve 300 days in jail stemming from a Red Willow County assault and a consecutive 300 days stemming from an assault occurring in Frontier County.
Garcia was originally facing four Class 3A felonies, alleging three counts of third degree sexual assault of a child and one count of child abuse. He accepted a plea agreement in July, offered by special prosecutor and Assistant Attorney General with the Nebraska Department of Justice Charles L. Byrd Jr., admitting guilt to a pair of Class I misdemeanor offenses for third degree sexual assault.
Per the plea agreement, Garcia entered a no contest plea to subjecting his victims to sexual contact without their consent and language previously indicating the age of the victims was removed.
Garcia was facing a maximum sentence of two years imprisonment and a $2,000 fine following the plea deal.
According to court documents, the Red Willow County case was brought to the attention of investigators after a 6-year-old girl told her mother Garcia was "sick" and indicated she did not want to stay with him while her parents were on vacation. The girl provided disturbing details of a sexual assault she said occurred while she was in his care four months earlier.
The original Red Willow County charges alleged Garcia sexually assaulted and abused the 6-year-old girl in October of 2012.
The Frontier County case stemmed from a second victim and claimed Garcia sexually assaulted her between two time periods. One felony charge alleged a sexual assault occurred between March 1, 2000, and Oct. 31, 2003, when the victim would have been between 6 and 10 years old. The second felony alleged a sexual assault occurred between March 1, 2003, and Oct. 31, 2006, when the victim would have been between 10 and 12 years old.
Garcia will be required to register as a sex offender and received credit at sentencing for one day in jail already served.