A suspect in child molestation in a ten-year-old case pleaded guilty

GOSHEN. The suspect in the case of molestation of a 10-year-old child filed a plea.

Francisco Quevedo, 49, pleaded guilty to sexual assault as a Class D felony Thursday in Elkhart County Superior Court 3. He admitted to inappropriately touching the victim, who was unable to consent because she was under 8 years old.

His plea agreement leaves the terms of the sentence up to the discretion of the court. A category D crime is punishable by imprisonment for up to three years.

The five-year term is less than the maximum for the crimes he originally faced, two counts of child molestation as a Class C felony. The original charges will be dismissed under the terms of his plea agreement.

Quevedo pleaded guilty to the amended charge in a jury trial set for Dec. 9. Judge Teresa Cataldo took the plea into account and set sentencing for December 12.

Quevedo was arrested in December 2023 on a warrant issued in February 2015. It was issued after the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office investigated a January 2014 report by the victim’s parents.

They said the girl said Quevedo had touched her inappropriately while she was staying overnight at someone else’s house. The victim detailed the incident during questioning, saying Quevedo touched her when they were alone in a room.

She said that he had done something like this before, apart from kissing her on the lips.