Dexter man gets seven years in assault on teen

Butler County authorities say a Dexter man is slated for deportation after he serves a seven-year sentence for sexual abuse.

Alejandro Flores-Martinez, 35, was sentenced earlier this month to seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections after being convicted of the Class C felony of first-degree sexual abuse, according to Butler County Prosecuting Attorney Kacey Proctor.

Flores-Martinez stood trial in August before Presiding Circuit Judge Michael Pritchett.

During the bench trial, the state presented testimony from Flores-Martinez’s victim, Poplar Bluff Police Detective Bryce Colvin and Lt. Joe Ward.

The state’s evidence also included video surveillance footage from a local department store.

The incident, according to Colvin’s probable-cause statement, took place on Dec. 14, 2018.

The female victim had just turned 17 at the time of the incident, police Chief Danny Whiteley said.

Colvin said the teen reported she was looking at items in the store’s makeup area when she noticed a man, later identified as Flores-Martinez, following her around the business.

“Moments later, Flores walked up behind her, covered her eyes with his hands and thrusted (himself) forward, causing contact (with) her buttocks,” Colvin said. “(She) was startled by Flores’ actions, and he quickly walked away, then exited the business.”

The video footage showed the teen “looking through products on the shelves within the makeup department,” Colvin said. “Flores continuously circled and watches her while he repeatedly touched” himself.

Colvin said it “appeared” Flores-Martinez was “waiting for his moment to assault” the teen.

Flores-Martinez walked “up behind (the teen) and covered her eyes with his hands,” Colvin said. “Flores then thrusted (himself) toward her.

“(The victim) swatted Flores’ hands away, and Flores backed up and walked away.”

Proctor said Flores-Martinez’s charge alleged the sexual abuse against the teen was forcible.

The defense, Proctor said, argued “it wasn’t actually forcible.”

At the conclusion of the trial, Pritchett reportedly took the case under advisement and announced his verdict in October, finding Flores-Martinez guilty as charged.

Both Proctor and Whiteley said it was their understanding that Flores-Martinez came into the country about 15 years ago as an “illegal alien,” but later became a “legal resident.”

Flores-Martinez, Proctor said, is not a U.S. citizen and is subject to deportation.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been contacted, Proctor said.

“After his prison sentence in the Missouri Department of Corrections is over, he will be deported and banned from re-entry,” Proctor said.

ICE officials, Proctor said, will take Flores-Martinez “straight into custody, and he will be deported” upon his release.

Law enforcement, according to Whiteley, have seen “multiple times where illegal aliens have come into the country and the heartland of America.

“We’ve seen in some of the larger cities, where the local authorities are prevented from working with ICE to remove dangerous criminals, such as Mr. Martinez.

“ ... Mr. Martinez, obviously, was someone parents would not want running around loose in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, or the United States in general.”

Whiteley said local officials have a “history of working with our federal partners. ...

“It takes a lot of work and extra effort from the prosecutor’s office to follow those cases through and to work with our federal partners, whether it be DEA, ICE, ATF, FBI or the Secret Service, to coordinate the prosecution” of defendants.

Proctor, Whiteley said, has been “very proactive and a leader in that cooperation.”