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Milton Flores

(provided photo)

Dauphin County Judge John F. Cherry didn't try to hide his disgust Monday as he sentenced a repeat sex offender to 5 to 10 years in state prison for forcibly kissing the bare buttocks of a 14-year-old girl.



Milton Flores met the Derry Township girls' mother through a salsa dancing group, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Gettle said. She said the mom didn't know, however, that in 1994 the Harrisburg man had been convicted of having sex with an 11-year-old girl.



Township police arrested Flores, 50, after the 14-year-old reported that he had pulled her pants down and kissed her behind without her consent. Gettle said investigators found he had secretly been taking photos of the teen's clothed buttocks as well.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/06/harrisburg_man_kissed_teenager.html



Flores pleaded no contest to charges of indecent assault, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of minors in November. He had no sentencing deal. His convictions mean he will have to register with police for life as a sex offender.



Defense attorney Kevin Helm asked Cherry to sentence Flores to county prison so he could enter the work-release program and continue working as a machinist.



Gettle argued for a state prison sentence, citing the impact on the victim and her family. "This (legal) process has been devastating for them," she said.



"I acknowledge the facts in front of me," Flores told the judge in a quavering voice. "I plead for the court's mercy."



Gettle said the victim's mother only had one message for Flores. "She said she hopes he burns in Hell," the prosecutor said.



In opting for a state prison term, Cherry said any lesser punishment would "violate the rights of the victim."



"This is not the first time this defendant has conducted himself this way with a child," the judge said. "Society should be protected from him."



