The judge agreed to a reduced sentence because Hector Olvera will also be deported.

Posted: Tuesday, January 21, 2014 6:48 pm
Neil Harvey

A man who pleaded no contest to aggravated sexual battery against a child was given a comparatively short sentence Tuesday in Roanoke Circuit Court, but prosecutors said his conviction will trigger his deportation from the United States.

Through a plea agreement, Hector Olvera, 48, was ordered by a judge to serve four months in jail, with nine years and eight months suspended.

Olvera, who said at the hearing that he is originally from Mexico and has been in this country illegally for 13 years, is currently the subject of a detainer by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and will be deported, according to Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Courtney Hamblin.

Olvera’s active sentence of four months falls significantly below what judicial guidelines recommend — approximately one to five years in prison with the average penalty coming in at about three years — and the judge at Olvera’s previous hearing in December rejected that sentencing agreement, citing his reservations about the length.

But this week Judge William Broadhurst said that he would approve it under the circumstances — specifically that it would prevent the 9-year-old victim in the case from having to testify in court.

“The punishment called for by the agreement is below the guidelines; however, the court is willing to accept the agreement,” Broadhurst said. “Given the fact that the U.S. government is working to remove Mr. Olvera from our presence, I’m satisfied that the departure is warranted.”

Olvera has already served nearly five months in jail.

He was arrested Aug. 28 after the victim’s parents reported that Olvera, an acquaintance of the family, had touched their child inappropriately sometime in late March or early April.

Both parents said Tuesday they favored the sentencing agreement as well.

Olvera, who has communicated in court through an interpreter, spoke only to answer general questions, but offered a statement at the conclusion of his hearing.

“May God bless all those here,” he told the court.

He was also ordered to serve one year of active supervised probation and must register as a convicted sex offender.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/crime/ro...a4bcf6878.html