GENTRY — A Gentry man was sentenced to 30 years in prison Monday after admitting he sexually abused an 8-year-old girl.

Miguel Maldonado-Hernandez, 53, pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual assault, a class B felony punishable with a prison sentence ranging from six to 30 years. He pleaded guilty under a plea agreement Public Defender Brynna Barnica reached with Deputy Prosecutor Joni Rose.

Maldonado-Hernandez was arrested on Aug. 15, 2009, after Gentrypolice received a complaint.

Rose told Circuit Judge Robin Green that Maldonado-Hernandez engaged in sex acts with the child in 2008 when describing the crime.

Maldonado-Hernandez denied the allegation through an interpreter, but when questioned further he admitted the acts occurred in 2009.

Rose said the victim’s family was aware of the plea agreement and did not have any objections.

Green accepted the plea agreement and Maldonado-Hernandez’s guilty plea. Green ordered Maldonado-Hernandez to serve 30 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction.

Maldonado-Hernandez received 212 days of jail credit for the time he spent in custody awaiting trial.

He will be required to register as a sex offender, enroll in the prison’s sex offender treatment program or one at Ozark Guidance in Springdale after his release and pay $2,120 in court costs.

He also was ordered not to have any contact with the victim, and he can not have any unsupervised contact with minors.

News, Pages 3 on 03/17/2010