On March 13, 2024, in Schenectady County Court, Schenectady County Court Judge Matthew J. Sypniewski, sentenced defendant Juan Garcia-Pleitez, [dob 5/20/1982], to fifteen [15] years in state prison. In addition to the prison term, Mr. Garcia-Pleitez was sentenced to twenty [20] years of parole and a forty [40] year full order of protection was issued for the victim. At the completion of his prison term, he will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
The sentence occurred because Mr. Garcia-Pleitez had previously pled guilty in Schenectady County Court, on January 3, 2024, to one count of Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, a class B violent felony, in violation of New York State Penal Law Section 130.50[4]. Mr. Garcia-Pleitez pled guilty to engaging in anal sexual conduct with a child less than thirteen years old, who was well known to him. The sexual assault occurred on or about August 2, 2023, in the City and County of Schenectady, New York.
The investigation into the child sexual assault began on August 3, 2023, when the child disclosed to her mother, that Mr. Garcia-Pleitez had sexually assaulted her the day prior in the attic of the family residence. The mother upon learning of the assault immediately removed her children from the apartment and contacted the police. Schenectady patrol officers first responded to the 911 call before the investigation was turned over to detectives from the Schenectady Police Department’s Youth Aid Bureau, who specialize in criminal investigations involving children. Shortly after the assault was reported, the child was transported to the Schenectady County Child Advocacy Center (the CAC) to be forensically interviewed. The CAC is run and staffed by the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office and is a nationally accredited child friendly environment specifically designed to forensically interview children related to physical or sexual abuse. The child detailed the sexual assault again in a forensic interview and based upon the timing of the sexual assault was referred to a SANE nurse (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) for a sexual assault examination. This exam occurred at the Schenectady County Child Advocacy Center in a medical room and was conducted by a nurse from Saint Peter’s Health Partners who contracts with Schenectady County to staff and provide onsite medical examinations, eliminating the need to send children to a hospital for those services. At that exam, the SANE nurse collected physical evidence from the child. That physical evidence was sent to the New York State Police Forensic Investigation Center for analysis, and the results of that analysis corroborated the child’s sexual assault disclosure.
District Attorney Robert M. Carney stated that “This case illustrates the value of the Child Advocacy Center. It is a one stop shop where children can be examined and questioned by trained professionals, doing the best they can to gather the evidence we need to hold offenders accountable while minimizing trauma to child victims. The CAC also offers counseling at no charge for victims and their families and help in accessing crime victims funding through New York State. Under the direction of Susan Casey, the CAC is a genuine asset to the people of Schenectady County.”
The People were represented by Special Victim Bureau Chief ADA John J. Carson. Mr. Garcia-Pleitez was represented y attorney Lee Kindlon, of the Kindlon Law Firm, PLLC.