KINGSTON – A Kingston man pleaded guilty in Ulster County Court last Thursday to sexually abusing a seven-year-old girl.
The Ulster County District Attorney’s Office said the defendant, Carlos Fernando Pinola Pop, 41, pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual abuse, a felony, and was in the country illegally.
According to prosecutors, on September 25, 2023, Pinola Pop abused a 7-year-old girl by placing his hands and penis on her vagina.
The girl told her mother, who informed a third community member. This third member contacted the police and the accused was arrested by Kingston Police on October 13, 2023.
The defendant later admitted to the police that he had sexual contact with the girl.
“The message of this case is clear,” said Jenna Hastings, director of the district attorney’s special office for victims, in a statement. “A child should never be the target of a sexual act.”
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Prosecutors have not disclosed the relationship between Pinola Pop and the 7-year-old. Pinola Pop faces up to seven years in prison when he is sentenced by Judge James Farrell in Sullivan County District Court on Oct. 10. He will also be registered as a sex offender.
In addition, he faces deportation by the federal government after serving his prison sentence.
Pinola Pop was represented by John Evans of the Ulster County Public Defender’s Office. He could not immediately be reached for comment.
Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record and the Poughkeepsie Journal. Reach him at [email protected].
