Armando Garduno-Cardena, 29, received 3 years in prison for molesting his niece over the summer of 2014.
TRENTON - A Hightstown man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting his young niece received prison time Thursday.
Armando Garduno-Cardena, 29, was given three years in prison at a sentencing Thursday and told that he must serve at least 85 percent of that time. With the prison time Garduno-Cardena has served since his arrest in 2014, he will be eligible for parole in a little over a year.
Garduno-Cardena was arrested in Oct. of 2014 after his 10-year-old niece came forward and accused him of sexual assault.
After an investigation authorities and prosecutors determined that Garduno-Cardena had assaulted his niece multiple times over the summer of 2014, Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier said in court.
He was charged with the crime and pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault in September.
Garduno-Cardena, an undocumented landscaper from Mexico, may be deported after his release from prison, Billmeier said to the courtroom.
If he is not, he will still be forced to stay away from his niece, her parents, her school and her home. He will also need to register as a sex offender and pay over $1,000 in fines, Billmeier determined.
Garduno-Cardena's mother, father and brother were in the courtroom for his sentencing Thursday but declined to speak on his behalf. His mother cried as the sentence was read.
Billmeier said in court that a doctor had evaluated Garduno-Cardena and determined his behavior was repetitive but not compulsive.
Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.