Baker County Courthouse.

A Baker City man was sentenced to 40 months in state prison on Monday, July 14, after pleading no contest to a felony charge of attempted first-degree sexual abuse of a child younger than 14 who was known to him.

Juvenal Pena Gomez, 39, entered what’s known as an Alford plea, District Attorney Greg Baxter said.

In an Alford plea the defendant maintains his innocence but acknowledges that the prosecution has sufficient evidence for a conviction. The plea has the same effect as a guilty plea.

Gomez was slated to go on trial on Tuesday, July 15, in Baker County Circuit Court.

He was arrested on Aug. 26, 2024, in Baker City, and released from the Baker County Jail on Aug. 28, 2024, after posting $5,000, 10% of the $50,000 bail.

A grand jury indicted Gomez on four charges on Aug. 29, 2024, including first-degree sexual abuse, a Class B felony that on conviction carries a mandatory minimum prison term of six years and three months.

The three other charges are Class A misdemeanors: third-degree sexual abuse, harassment, and attempt to commit a Class C or unclassified felony. Gomez pleaded not guilty to the charges on Dec. 4, 2024, in Baker County Circuit Court.

According to the indictment, Gomez is accused of abusing the victim on or about Aug. 17, 2024.

Because Gomez is not a U.S. citizen but is living here on a work visa, he likely will be deported after serving the prison sentence, Baxter said.