A La Plata County man was sentenced this week to six years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted sexual assault of a child.
It was the maximum penalty allowed under terms of a plea agreement the defendant signed with the 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Edmundo Cuahutle-Solis, 41, had sexual contact with a girl over the course of two years, according to the victim’s mother, who spoke Tuesday in District Court. She asked District Judge William Herringer to impose a sentence that would achieve justice and prevent Cuahutle-Solis from doing something similar to other families.
“I have so many things to say, but I just want justice to be served for my daughter,” the woman said, speaking through a Spanish interpreter.
In a letter to the judge, the victim said Cuahutle-Solis would wait for her mother to go to work in the morning, then go to her bedroom to wake her up and take her to another bedroom to commit the assaults. The incidents made her stop eating and caused her to become distracted in school, which caused her grades to drop, she wrote.
Cuahutle-Solis, a Mexican national, faced deportation if he was given supervised probation, but Assistant District Attorney David Ottman said that would be like a gift. Instead, he asked for the maximum prison sentence, and after he has served his time, the federal government can decide whether to deport him.
Public defense lawyer Justin Bogan said Cuahutle-Solis is a stranger in a dark place on a dark journey, but it’s a journey of his own making. He was slow to take responsibility for his actions because he was ashamed and embarrassed by his actions, Bogan said.
Cuahutle-Solis is unlikely to receive sex-offender treatment in prison, and the loss of his family is punishment in itself, he said.
Speaking through a Spanish interrupter, Cuahutle-Solis asked for forgiveness from God and his family. He said he’d like to reverse his actions and the harm he caused to the family.
“I recognize that I have done a lot of harm, and I am asking for forgiveness,” he said.
Judge Herringer said Cuahutle-Solis took a long time to admit any wrongdoing, and his acceptance of responsibility was somewhat unsatisfying. To sentenced Cuahutle-Solis to anything less than prison would diminish the seriousness of the offense, he said.
“This is a sexual predatory act against a child that will affect her for the rest of her life,” he said.
shane@durangoherald.com
