OTHELLO — An Othello man was sentenced to about five years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to having sexual contact with a minor. 

Jesus Gutierrez-Guzman, 28, was sentenced in Adams County Superior Court to 43 months for communicating with a minor for immoral purposes and 16 months for violating sex offender sentencing alternatives, according to a media release from the Othello Police Department. The case follows a guilty plea on charges relating to a juvenile in 2022, the release said.  

Gutierrez was arrested in 2021 after he admitted to having sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl at his Othello residence.  

“He initially pleaded guilty in 2022 to the reduced charge of unlawful imprisonment with sexual motivation, which required him to register as a sex offender and have no contact with the victim,” the OPD release said.  

The victim ran away from home in 2022 and was not located for about 18 months, the release said. She was found in 2023 after giving birth to a child at a local hospital. She was 15 at the time, it said.  

“Suspicious circumstances surrounding the birth prompted hospital staff to notify law enforcement,” the OPD release said. 

The subsequent OPD investigation determined that Gutierrez-Guerrero was with the victim while she was missing and helped arrange transport to the hospital. Testing determined that he was the father of the child.  

“After fleeing to McAllen, Texas, he was arrested by the US Marshals Service and subsequently served 18 months in federal prison for failing to register as a sex offender and crossing state lines,” the release said. “After his release from federal custody, he was extradited back to Adams County to face additional charges. He still has an outstanding felony warrant in Texas for failing to register as a sex offender.”