ENTERPRISE-A first-degree rape charge against an illegal immigrant is dropped but Pablo Hugo Fidelino Mendoz now faces charges of human trafficking and sexual abuse, 12th Judicial Circuit District Attorney James Tarbox said Thursday.
Tarbox was joined by Enterprise Police Chief Michael Moore at a press conference held at the district attorney’s office Thursday preceding Mendoza’s pretrial detention hearing to announce that the first-degree rape charge was dismissed—nolle prosequi—and that Mendoza now faces one count of first-degree human trafficking, second-degree sodomy, and second-degree sexual abuse.
Tarbox said the revised charges are the result of an investigation by the Enterprise Police Department, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the Coffee County Department of Human Resources.
“Following an extensive review by this office, I, along with other assistant district attorneys, determined that the most appropriate charge is based upon the investigation and evidence currently available in this case.”
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The revised charges were filed late Tuesday at the Coffee County Jail where Mendoza, 23, has been since his arrest on charges of raping a then 14-year-old Enterprise girl in February of this year.
Coffee County District Judge Josh Wilson ordered Mendoza held without bond pending a Thursday’s pretrial detention hearing.
Tarbox said the investigation revealed that Mendoza had “ongoing contact” with the teen providing her with food, alcohol, and shelter. “I expect testimony to be provided that will indicate that the defendant (Mendoza) promised to take care of the girl, provide her with money, and asked her to change her appearance as part of his attempt to lure her away to this unknown male subject,” he said, adding that Mendoza was previously deported from the United States but had returned and was living in Enterprise.
Calling the relationship between Mendoza and the juvenile as a “grooming situation,” Tarbox said Mendoza tried to convince the girl to leave Alabama with an unnamed man and then threatened her if she didn’t.
“I expect testimony to be provided that will indicate that the defendant (Mendoza) attempted to threaten the girl and told her not to speak about this matter with her parents or the police,” Tarbox, commending the Enterprise Police for their investigation of the case. “I think the evidence will show that there was incapacitation of the victim was due to intoxication by alcohol.”
Moore said that Mendoza was arrested after Enterprise Police investigators received a report from the school resource officer and the girl’s parents.
During the investigation, it was learned that Mendoza and the girl had been in contact over several months during which time they engaged in sexual activities that involved alcohol that could have impaired the girl’s mental capacities.
“Even on a first-time offense, the (sentencing) range is 10 to 99 years,” Tarbox said in reference to the charge of first-degree human trafficking. “I don’t want anyone to think it’s not serious. It’s a very serious charge, a very serious situation, and we are going to continue to treat it as such,” Tarbox stressed. “I can tell you without a doubt based on what I reviewed, and I think Chief Moore feels the same way, if this defendant had the chance and this victim had done what he had asked, we’d have a missing 14-year-old girl, and she would not be in our area.”
“My position, in protecting this city, is that if you commit a crime in this city, you’ll go to jail, especially if it is a crime against children,” said Moore. “I don’t care if you are an immigrant or you’ve been her 47 years, if you commit a crime against a child—especially a child—you will be prosecuted.”
“The message Chief and I want to impart is that Coffee County is a safe place to live and when crime occurs, his office will investigate it and this office will prosecute it,” said Tarbox. “They are going to do everything they can to lock you up and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure you stay there.”
At a pretrial detention hearing Mendoza’s preliminary hearing is set for May 20.