Man gets 3 years for sex crimes

An Albany man was sentenced to nearly three years in prison for sex crimes on Thursday in Linn County Circuit Court.

Miguel Lopez-Garcia, 36, pleaded no contest to attempted first-degree unlawful sexual penetration and attempted first-degree sexual abuse.

He will face deportation after he serves his sentence.

According to prosecutor Coleen Cerda, the adolescent victim was a family friend and staying at Lopez-Garcia’s house at the time of the crimes, in March 2010.

Cerda said the victim went into Lopez-Garcia’s room to get a treat, and he grabbed her, threw her down on the bed and sexually assaulted her.

The victim disclosed the abuse about a year and a half later.

The girl said the incident has helped tear her family apart. “My own mother does not believe me,” she wrote in a letter to Judge Thomas McHill.

“I hope no more kids get hurt by Miguel,” she added.

Lopez-Garcia was initially charged with two counts of first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree unlawful sexual penetration.

Defense attorney Forrest Reid said his client took a plea deal because he was facing up to 25 years in prison on one of the accusations.

“He continues to deny his culpability regarding these charges,” Reid said.

Several family members of Lopez-Garcia were present during the hearing.

His wife, Renee Lopez, said the report was the result of a family feud, and her husband pleaded to avoid the possibility of decades in jail if the case went to trial.

“I just don’t want everybody to think he was guilty,” she said.