Sex abuse suspect withdraws guilty plea

A 35-year-old Spokane Valley man charged with molesting girls age 12 to 14 was allowed Monday to withdraw his guilty plea for the second time.

Guadalupe P. Borjas, 35, originally was charged with six counts of child molestation and one count each of unlawful imprisonment and sexual exploitation of a minor, according to court records.

In a plea bargain, six of the eight charges were to be dismissed in exchange for Borjas’ guilty plea to the two remaining offenses. That agreement, however, fell through Monday when questions arose over whether the deal would include an alleged sexual assault in nearby Grant County.

Borjas was originally charged with sexually assaulting girls at his home, at 4415 N. Adams, and at the Spokane River. All the girls were friends or acquaintances of Borjas’ teenage son, according to court records.

On June 30, Borjas pleaded guilty to five counts of child molestation, but deputy prosecutor Mark Cipolla allowed Borjas and his attorney, assistant public defender Tom Krzyminski, to withdraw the plea because the attorneys made the wrong calculation on the offender score used by the judge to determine Borjas’ prison term.

Then on Sept. 22, Borjas entered an Alford plea for two counts of third-degree child molestation. The sentencing was set for Monday. The Alford plea essentially means Borjas does not believe he is guilty but acknowledges that he could be convicted if the case went to trial.

However, Cipolla told Superior Court Judge Ellen Kalama Clark on Monday that one of the allegations of molestation came from Grant County and that prosecutors there would not say whether they intend to pursue that charge.

Since he could be facing yet another charge, Borjas chose to withdraw his guilty plea for the second time. Clark set a trial date of Jan. 16.

Borjas was recently sentenced to three years in federal prison for violations of his federal probation and he remains in custody on that charge, Cipolla said.