KINGMAN – A Kingman man who faced as many as 70 years in prison for his alleged abuse of his son and a niece decided to accept a plea agreement following a Tuesday settlement conference. The proposed plea agreement for Kenneth McIntire, 30, is scheduled to be entered September 26.
A school resource officer began investigating after learning a 13-year-old boy suffered lower body injuries. Police arrested McIntire on April 4 after learning McIntire used a belt, a section of PVC pipe and a metal broom handle to strike his son for disciplinary purpose.
Defense attorney Robin Puchek was quite candid with the court and his client during the settlement conference.
“Let’s just call a spade a spade. When he beat his son, he used a broomstick or a pipe, or both of them, and they broke,” Puchek said. “If you beat your kid hard enough that you break the thing you’re hitting him with, that might just be over the top.”
Judge Doug Camacho agreed with Puchek’s assessment that it might be difficult for McIntire to convince a jury that he was justified in administering discipline for his son in that manner.
Following his initial arrest, police subsequently learned that McIntire engaged in inappropriate touching of his 15-year-old niece. “The investigation revealed that McIntire had been abusing his niece over the past two years,” said deputy police chief Rusty Cooper.
Cooper said McIntire admitted involvement with his niece.
Prosecutor Jacob Cote conceded that McIntire’s Miranda rights were violated and that the defense would likely win a motion to suppress his admissions. Cote said he considered that issue in constructing the initial plea offer that subjected McIntire to up to 15 years in prison.
Camacho met privately with Puchek and his client and privately with Cote before the plea was successfully negotiated collectively. The proposed case resolution will be introduced to Mohave County Superior Court Judge Rick Lambert.
McIntire would serve ten years in prison for a child abuse conviction involving his son. He would subsequently register as a sex offender and be placed on probation for a sexual abuse of a minor conviction associated with his niece.
