Former Carnival Worker Gets 17 Years For Sex Assaults

GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — A former carnival worker convicted of sexually assaulting four people during the Montana State Fair in Great Falls, including a 13-year-old girl and an off-duty special victims unit detective, has been sentenced to 17 years in prison.

The Great Falls Tribune reports 43-year-old Roberto Salaman-Garcia was sentenced Thursday on four counts of sexual assault.

The detective reported Salaman-Garcia groped her while tightening her seat belt on a ride in the summer of 2018. Three more people reported similar interactions.

Salaman-Garcia testified he was just checking seat belts. Defense attorney Carl Jensen argued the detective’s work in dealing with sexual predators every day has her “seeing the enemy everywhere she looks.”

When Salaman-Garcia is released from prison, he will face deportation to Mexico.