An Atlantic City man who admitted to sexually assaulting two minors now wants to withdraw his guilty plea.
Santos Blanco, 43, was set to be sentenced Friday under the plea agreement, which called for 12 years in prison with a mandatory 85 percent before parole eligibility under the No Early Release Act.
Instead, as defense attorney Mark Roddy met with his client in a holding cell, Blanco told him he wanted to take back his plea, Roddy told Superior Court Judge Patricia Wild.
This was just another way for Blanco to continue his abuse, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Danielle Buckley told the judge as one of the victims and his mother sat in the audience.
The now 18-year-old was set to confront Blanco, prepared to give a statement before the judge would impose sentence. His mother sat next to him. Both have been present as the case has wound its way through the court system, Buckley noted.
"They have been patient. They have been persistent. They have been involved in every single way," she told Wild.
As Buckley spoke both the victim and his mother wiped tears from their eyes.
Roddy said he did not know why Blanco wanted to take back his plea.
He said he was going over the report from the Avenel Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center evaluation that sex offender undergoes when Blanco notified him that he did not want to go forward with the deal.
The report recommended that Blanco serve his sentence at Avenel, which houses and treats sex offenders. Roddy said Blanco indicated he did not want to serve his sentence there and that he doesn't need any treatment.
That report also found Blanco to be "a repetitive and compulsive sexual offender," Wild said, making sure to put the findings on record.
"In March of this year, you stood in front of me and ... you told me you were guilty of these charges," the judge told Blanco. "Do you remember that?"
"Yes," he replied through a Spanish interpreter.
"There is no basis whatsoever for this plea to be withdrawn," Buckley told the judge. "The 12 (years) at 85 (percent) was the absolute best that he was ever going to get."
Wild apologized to the victim, but said she was required to give Blanco time to make his argument for withdrawing the plea. If she continued with sentencing, she said it would only be overturned on appeal.
Wild said she would not ask Blanco why he changed his mind. Instead she gave him a new court date for Aug. 16, where he will appear with a new attorney, since Roddy can no longer represent him.
Blanco told the judge he could not afford another attorney, so he will apply for a public defender.
If Blanco were allowed to go to trial, he could face 25 years to life.
Under the plea agreement, he would have to register as a Megan's Law offender and have lifetime supervision.
