PROVO — An Orem man who was accused of trying to kill his 2-year-old step-daughter may not face an attempted murder charge.

Juan Pablo Garcia, 22, has accepted a deal with prosecutors that requires a guilty plea to first-degree felony aggravated sex assault and second-degree felony child abuse charges.

If he pleads guilty to those charges at a June court hearing, the Utah County Attorney's Office will drop the attempted murder charge.

In court Tuesday, Garcia waived his right to a preliminary hearing, at which deputy county attorneys would have presented evidence to a judge, who would then decide if there was enough evidence to warrant a trial.

Deputy Utah County Attorney Donna Kelly said she is happy with the deal because Garcia would still be pleading guilty to the most serious charge — aggravated sex assault.

It is more serious than the other charges because it has a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in Utah State Prison.

The offer is open only until the next hearing, when Garcia must make a decision about whether to accept it or go forward with a jury trial.

Attorneys are waiting for results from the Utah State Crime Lab, which is testing evidence taken from Garcia's home that deals with the sexual assault, Utah County Sheriff detective Wade Raab said.

"The crime lab is looking at bodily fluids," he said.

Garcia's stepdaughter was hospitalized at Timpanogos Regional Hospital from Feb. 15 until March 25, when she returned home with her mother.

Kelly said the little girl started walking a few days ago and is a "miracle baby."

"She's surprised everyone," Kelly said. "She'd doing really well."

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Garcia took the toddler to the hospital, saying her found her lying on the floor, according to police.

Medical workers told law enforcement officers the head injuries could not have been caused by a child falling from a table or chair.

Although the girl is healing well, doctors still expect she will suffer damages, Kelly said.


E-mail: shelps@desnews.com

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