BRENTWOOD — A Salem sex offender, who served 17 years in prison for raping and killing a woman, was convicted Wednesday of molesting a 7-year-old girl.
A jury returned two guilty verdicts against George Quintero, 44, formerly of Wheeler Avenue, on charges of aggravated felonious sexual assault and felonious sexual assault.
Quintero assaulted the girl, then 7, while the two were in Salem in February 2007.
Jurors were not allowed to hear that Quintero was a registered sex offender, nor about his murder conviction, according to Assistant County Attorney Karen Springer.
"That was the biggest thing," she said about the challenging aspects of the trial. "They heard from the victim and the victim's mother as well."
Quintero was convicted by the U.S. military for breaking into the home of a German woman, then raping and killing her in November 1984. He served 17 years of a 27-year sentence.
Defense lawyer Richard Samdperil called Quintero and his former fiancee to the stand.
Samdperil declined to comment about the case yesterday.
Part of the defense was challenging the timeline in which the assaults took place. Samdperil argued his client did not have access nor opportunity to commit the crimes.
Quintero was initially investigated by Medford, Mass., police for allegedly having contact with the girl in that town as well.
Police began investigating the assault last June, after the girl and her mother came forward to authorities in Massachusetts. The victim told Medford police about being assaulted in Salem.
Salem police Detective Michael Kelly, who also testified at the trial, was the lead investigator in the case. Jurors began deliberating around noon Tuesday and returned with a verdict late Wednesday.
A sentencing hearing has not been scheduled in the case, but typically happens within 45 to 60 days. Quintero could face between 15 to 30 years in state prison. Judge Tina Nadeau ordered a pre-sentence investigation, which will likely factor into the sentence Quintero receives.
