A jury Thursday convicted a former Border Patrol agent of having sexual relations with a 17-year-old girl in a Mission Bay hotel in 2015, and he was immediately jailed.
The same jury acquitted Daniel Alfredo Spear, 46, of three counts of furnishing cocaine to a minor and a charge of sexual penetration of an intoxicated minor.
He was convicted of oral copulation of a minor, digital penetration of a minor, and taking nude pictures of her with his cellphone at the Mission Bay hotel in October 2015. His attorney said two of the four not guilty verdicts involved alleged incidents at Spear’s home in Lemon Grove.
San Diego Superior Court Judge David Rubin remanded Spear into jail at the request of Deputy District Attorney Marisa Di Tillio. Sentencing was set for Nov. 18. Di Tillio said Spear faces a maximum sentence of four years and four months in state prison. He will likely have to register as a sex offender once he is paroled, she said.
“He’s very disappointed. His wife is very disappointed,” said his attorney Kerry Armstrong.
“He maintains she (the victim) made it all up. She had a crush on him,” said Armstrong. “When he refused to leave his wife for her, she made the allegations.”
Charges were filed Jan. 7, and Spear was terminated from the Border Patrol about six weeks after the charges were filed. He worked for the Border Patrol for 18 years. The girl was a friend of Spear’s daughter.
Spear denied all the charges during his trial testimony. Jurors deliberated four hours over two days before reaching their verdicts.
Armstrong said it was possible that Spear could be placed on probation instead of being sent to prison. Di Tillio said probation was only possible “theoretically” and indicated prison was likely.
Spear had been free on $275,000 bond until the verdicts were returned. He remains in the central jail without bail.