GREAT FALLS – A former carnival worker has been found guilty of sexually assaulting four people during Montana State Fair in Great Falls last summer, including a 13-year-old girl and an off-duty special victims unit detective.
A Cascade County jury found 43-year-old Robert Salaman-Garcia guilty of two felonies and two misdemeanors on Wednesday.
The police officer reported Salaman-Garcia groped her while tightening her seat belt on a ride. Three more people reported similar interactions.
Salaman-Garcia testified he was just checking seatbelts. Defense attorney Carl Jensen argued the detective’s work in dealing with sexual predators every day has her “seeing the enemy everywhere she looks.”
A sentencing date has not been set. Salaman-Garcia faces between four and 100 years in prison. Deputy County Attorney Susan Webber says if Salaman-Garcia is released from prison he would face deportation to Mexico.