Ex-deacon sentenced to prison for molesting girl, could get out in one year

Idaho Statesman
July 29, 2014

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/07/29/3301521/ex-deacon-sentenced-to-prison.html

Last December, Alexander Gonzalez Garcia blamed Satan for causing him to molest a 12-year-old girl in a storage room at the Nampa Seventh-Day Adventist Church where he served as a deacon.

On Tuesday, 3rd District Judge Bradly Ford sentenced the 57-year-old Middleton man to at least five and up to 15 years in prison for that felony. But the judge retained jurisdiction, which means Garcia will be evaluated in the prison system for one year, after which Ford can decide whether to release him on probation or have him complete his prison term.

“Mr. Garcia used his position of trust in the church to take advantage of the victim, and he deserves to be behind bars where he can no longer be a danger to the community,” Canyon County Prosecutor Bryan Taylor said in a news release. “This case should serve as a reminder to every parent that you need to be very careful of who your kids are hanging around with.”

Ford commended the victim for her courage in coming forward and reporting the abuse, which reportedly happened in July 2013. Court records show Garcia initially denied the abuse but later told police Satan was in the locked room and made him touch the girl inappropriately.

Ford ordered Garcia to register as a sex offender, submit a DNA sample to an Idaho database and have no contact with the victim, the victim’s family, or any under-age females. Garcia also was also ordered to pay a $5,000 civil penalty and more than $3,000 in fines.

Garcia initially was charged with lewd conduct with a minor, which carries a potential penalty of life in prison. He pleaded guilty in March to a reduced charge of felony sexual abuse of a minor under age 16. The maximum penalty for that crime is 25 years in prison.

Ford ordered a psycho-sexual evaluation of Garcia before sentencing him.