Child-sex offenders draw prison time

November 16, 2009

By Jeff Lehr


Judge Gayle Crane in Jasper County Circuit Court in Joplin sentenced Domingo Pu-Prez, 27, of Joplin, to five years in prison on a conviction for first-degree child molestation.

Pu-Prez entered an Alford plea to the Class B felony offense on Sept. 14 in a plea agreement with the Jasper County prosecutor’s office that limited the prison time he might be required to serve to no more than five years. The Class B felony level of first-degree child molestation carries a punishment range from five to 15 years in Missouri.

An Alford plea admits no guilt but acknowledges that the prosecution’s case is strong enough to make a conviction likely if the matter were to go to trial.

Pu-Prez, who is identified as an illegal immigrant in court documents, was arrested May 4 when the mother of a 7-year-old girl told Joplin police that the defendant had touched her daughter inappropriately, according to a probable-cause affidavit. An officer spoke with the girl, and she confirmed what her mother said, according to the affidavit.

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