MASON CITY, Iowa – A man who got his guilty plea to lascivious acts with a child overturned has now been found guilty of a more serious sex crime.
Amando Montealvo Martinez, 61 of Clear Lake, was arrested in February 2016 and accused of sexually abusing a girl under the age of 12. As part of a deal with prosecutors, Martinez entered an Alford plea to lascivious acts and was sentenced in August 2016 to up to 10 years in prison. However, he later filed for post-conviction relief and claimed his attorney had not advised him of the potential immigration consequences of his plea.
According to court documents Martinez was born in Mexico but has lived in the United States for 40 years. Martinez is not a U.S. citizen but has a “green card” and was notified after his conviction that he would face deportation when his prison sentence was complete. Martinez says it he had known deportation was a possibility, he would have gone to trial instead of taking a plea deal.
Martinez’ request for post-conviction relief was granted and his plea and sentence were set aside. He then went to trial on July 16 for of 2nd degree sexual abuse and assault with intent to commit sexual abuse. After a two-day trial and less than five hours of deliberation, a jury found Martinez guilty of 2nd degree sex abuse but not guilty of assault. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 23.
2nd degree sex abuse carries a maximum sentence of up to 25 years in prison and Martinez would still be subject to deportation after serving his time.
