A former Border Patrol agent who was convicted of having sexual relations with a 17-year-old girl in a Mission Bay hotel was sentenced Jan. 20 to two years in state prison.
Daniel Alfredo Spear, 46, was ordered to register as a sex offender by San Diego Superior Court Judge David Rubin, who gave him credit for already serving 241 days in jail. He was fined $1,800.
A jury convicted him of oral copulation and digital penetration of a minor, and using a minor in sexually explicit images on his cellphone. The same jury acquitted him of four other charges on Sept. 22, 2016.
“It’s hard to have remorse when you deny what you’ve done,” said Deputy District Attorney Marisa Di Tillio, referring to Spear’s testimony at trial.
“This was not a one-time thing. This was akin to an affair,” said the prosecutor. “He had multiple opportunities to walk away.”
Di Tillio asked Rubin to impose a prison term of three years and four months while his attorney, Kerry Armstrong, asked for a 270-day term in jail. He has no prior record and he worked for the Border Patrol for 18 years before he was fired due to this case.
Rubin denied probation even after a probation officer said she thought he could be rehabilitated. Spear’s wife was in the audience. His attorney said he had been assaulted in jail.
Police officers discovered the girl’s photos on his cell phone that were taken in a room at the Dana Hotel that he had rented. Spear denied taking the pictures and said someone else had done it.
Spear has a second trial set for Feb. 6 on charges he violated conditions of his bond by possessing ammunition in a safe in his Lemon Grove home. Armstrong said he had relinquished all his firearms, but did not know that meant he had to get rid of the ammunition.