By Jeff Lehr

jlehr@joplinglobe.com

An illegal alien accused of sexually molesting two underage girls in Carthage two years ago entered Alford pleas Monday on both felony counts he was facing in Jasper County Circuit Court and was ordered turned over to immigration officials for deportation to Mexico.

Salomon A. Jiminez, 55, entered the pleas to counts of first-degree statutory rape and first-degree statutory sodomy in a plea agreement with the county prosecutor’s office. The agreement limited the length of sentences he could be assessed to 10 years for each conviction and called for the sentences to run concurrently.

Circuit Judge David Dally sentenced Jiminez to 10 years on each count but suspended execution of the sentence and ordered him turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation.

An Alford plea admits no guilt but acknowledges that the evidence against a defendant is strong enough to make a conviction likely if the case were to be tried in court.

A probable-cause affidavit filed in the case by Carthage police states that the defendant had sexual intercourse with a 9-year-old girl between June 1 and Sept. 1, 2006. The abuse took place on multiple occasions at a home in Carthage, the affidavit states.

Jiminez also had deviate sexual intercourse with a 7-year-old girl over the same period of time, according to court records. That abuse also took place on more than one occasion.

Deportation

Deportation following convictions are common in Missouri, rather than incarceration of an illegal alien at the state’s expense.