Sex offender sent back to prison for failing to register.

Hector Saldana, Jr., with his attorney Timothy Hayes.

Sex offender sent back to prison for failing to register.

#OceanaCountyCrime

By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.

HART – A 33-year-old Rothbury man was sentenced to a return trip to prison in 27th Circuit Court Monday, Jan. 27, for a conviction of failing to register as a sex offender.

Hector Martin Saldana, Jr., of 3261 W. Winston Rd., pleaded guilty to the charge, Dec. 2. Judge Robert D. Springstead sentenced Saldana to one year and one day to four years in prison.

A felony charge of tampering with an electronic monitoring device (tether), an assault case in 78th District Court and his habitual offender status were dismissed in the plea deal.

Saldana testified that he failed to register as a sex offender last August. He was on parole at the time of the offense, and his sentence runs consecutively to his parole violation sanctions, said Judge Robert D. Springstead.

“I was supposed to come to the sheriff’s office after getting out of prison,” he said. However, he had warrants for his arrest and didn’t want to go to jail.

Saldana was paroled Aug. 20, 2019, according to the Offender Tracking Information System (OTIS). He was sentenced to one year and one month to six years in prison in October of 2012 for an Oceana County felonious assault conviction. In August of 2008, Saldana was sentenced to three to 20 years in prison for a Muskegon County conviction of second-degree criminal sexual conduct (CSC). In November of 2011, he was sentenced to one year and six months to five years for an Oceana County conviction of car theft.

“I don’t have any argument for doing my time for the things that I do,” Saldana said. He said prior to his arrest he was getting his life together. “I maintained employment and got my own place.”

However, the previous stints in prison have taken their toll. “I’ve done years in the hole,” he said. “It causes me to have anxiety real bad, and it plays a role in some of my decision making.”

“Really what I hope for you is that you successfully complete parole,” Judge Springstead said.

“I gotta change my way of thinking,” Saldana said.

Sentencing guidelines in the case are 12-24 months.

He received no credit for his time served in jail, because he was on parole at the time of the offense.

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