An undocumented Guatemalan man is awaiting trial on a violent case of rape and incest in Putnam County.
Santos Hipolito "Junior" Cinto, 39, was about to be exported to his native country two days before Christmas by federal immigration authorities. However, according to the Union-Recorder, local authorities learned of Cinto's pending deportation and contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to prevent it.
According to a Putnam County Sheriff’s Office incident report, a local detective spoke to a young woman who had accused her stepfather of molesting her since she was 12. Several years later, the alleged victim had a baby, now about 3 years old.
Cinto subsequently was indicted by a Putnam County grand jury on incest and rape last year.
Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Assistant District Attorney T. Wright Barksdale plans to try the case later this year in Putnam County Superior Court.
“This man is an illegal alien, and ICE agents came and picked him up from the county jail after he was arrested and indicted by a grand jury,” Barksdale said.
Barksdale was notified by an Atlanta-based ICE agent of Cinto’s pending deportation just before Christmas. He said he immediately went through the process of getting the necessary paperwork to halt Cinto’s departure.
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