Court: Alleged Rapist Pleased With Lenient Sentence Offer

A Port Chester man accused of having sex with a teenage girl hugged his attorney on Friday when he was told he could serve less than a year in jail.

Valentine Guandique, 29, was arrested July 30 when the mother of a 14-year-old girl reported the man to police. He's charged with second-degree rape and is being held on $5,000 bail.

Guandique had been living with the girl and her family on Seymour Road. According to police, the girl told a family friend about her relationship with Guandique – which began when she was 13 – and the friend told the girl's mother.

The Guatemala native told police that he didn't know about statutory rape laws in the U.S. and didn't think he had done anything wrong. The defense is common among defendants from Central and South America, where the age of consent for sex is lower than in the U.S. or doesn't exist in the first place.

When the Assistant DA announced that his office is seeking a six-to-twelve-month sentence in the case, Guandique smiled widely and hugged his attorney. The case also was bumped up to county court in White Plains, where the proceedings will be expedited.

There was no immediate word on when Guandique would be due in White Plains.

Local Man Admits He Threatened Ex-Girlfriend

A Port Chester man who initially refused to plead guilty to threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend changed his tune Friday.

Walter Linares was originally charged with felony aggravated harassment for allegedly calling the woman, who has a child with Linares, repeatedly on July 27 and threatening to kill her. According to the DA' s office - and the victim - Linares said he "was going to kill her in two or three days."

He was offered a plea to misdemeanor aggravated harassment, and he initially agreed. But last week Linares denied making the threat. He claimed, through an interpreter, that he called the woman repeatedly and she never answered the phone.

On Friday he changed his tune, pleading guilty to the misdemeanor charge and admitting that he "called and threatened" the victim.

Linares was sentenced to 45 days in jail, most of which he has already served. A permanent order of protection was taken out against him on behalf of the victim and her child.

Linares is the subject of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement 'detainer', meaning there's a problem with his immigration status and he will be remanded to federal custody upon completing the 45-day jail sentence.