Man accused of molestation changes plea

A 35-year-old man was transferred to federal custody Friday after he entered an Alford plea in connection to charges that he molested girls between the ages of 12 and 14.

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

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 to determine how long Borjas must serve in prison.

So on Friday, Borjas withdrew his original plea and entered an Alford plea for two counts of third-degree child molestation, and Cipolla asked Superior Court Judge Tari Eitzen to sentence Borjas to just over three years in prison. The sentencing date was not set.

The Alford plea essentially means that Borjas does not believe he is guilty but acknowledges that he could be convicted if the case went to trial.

However, since Borjas was facing about three years in federal custody for probation violations, Cipolla asked Eitzen to turn him over to federal authorities. His sentence on the molestation conviction will run at the same time as the federal sentence, Cipolla said.

Borjas is accused of sexually assaulting the girls at his home at 4415 N. Adams, and at the Spokane River. All the girls were friends or acquaintances of Borjas’ 15-year-old son, according to court records.

The unlawful imprisonment count stems from an incident following an alleged assault, in which Borjas is accused of preventing a girl from leaving his home until she exposed herself for a photograph, according to court records.