ORLANDO - The former head of a Department of Homeland Security program targeting child predators pleaded no contest Wednesday to charges he exposed himself and masturbated in front of a teenage girl in a mall food court in October.
Frank Figueroa, who was arrested weeks after he took the helm of the Tampa office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, faces up to 14 months in jail and $1,500 in fines when he is sentenced. Orange County Judge Leon B. Cheek Jr. tentatively scheduled sentencing for next month.
Figueroa's plea to charges of exposure of sexual organs and disorderly conduct came a day after the Polk County Sheriff's Office charged a Homeland Security spokesman with preying on a child through sexual conversations on the Internet. Brian J. Doyle was placed on administrative leave after his arrest.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is the law enforcement arm of Homeland Security.
Figueroa's arrest prompted a national review of background checks conducted on Homeland Security employees who target child exploitation after a federal official revealed that Figueroa had been arrested for similar behavior in Amherst, N.Y., in 1977 when he was an inspector with the U.S. Customs office in Buffalo. That case was dismissed.
ICE spokesman Dean Boyd said Figueroa's status with the agency remains under review. Boyd said the review of background checks is ongoing and that officials would have no comment on Figueroa's plea.
Cheek ruled Figueroa could remain free on bail until sentencing, with the condition that he stay away from malls, public shopping areas and the victim.
Figueroa, 49, who had been scheduled to go on trial this morning, said little in court as he entered his plea. Asked by the judge whether there was anything he wanted to say, he responded, "Not at this time, your honor."
Mostly, Figueroa just answered the judge's questions, saying he understood the process and the consequences of his actions.
At one point, Cheek asked Figueroa, "Do you understand, if you are not a citizen of the United States, this plea could subject you to the deportation process?"
"Yes, sir," said the man who once helped oversee law enforcement efforts to deport noncitizens convicted of such crimes. Figueroa was born in New York and is a U.S. citizen.
After the hearing, Figueroa was tightly embraced by his wife and surrounded by several family members. Figueroa and his family did not want to talk to a reporter.
His attorney, A. Brian Phillips, said he advised Figueroa not to plead no contest. Figueroa wanted "to protect his family ... from having to go through this process," Phillips said. "Even winning is stressful."
The attorney said the defense will have more to say at the sentencing hearing. "You'll see our view of the world," he said. He added that they plan a presentation that will be "revealing of the man" and the incident at the mall. "What happened happened or didn't happen, as the case may be."
The victim, Rachel Wright, and her mother, Cleme Consalvo, were in court for the plea hearing. "We showed up here because I felt [Wright's] presence was a statement without words," Consalvo said. "We want him to suffer the consequences of his actions."
The Tampa Tribune has a policy against publishing the names of victims in sex cases. Consalvo and Wright, however, have chosen to go public. They say they have no reason to be ashamed.
Consalvo welcomed Figueroa's plea. "I'm relieved we don't have to go to trial and fight over stupidity."
Wright said, "I think he is trying to make this as little of a hassle as possible."
Her mother suggested the plea was entered the day before the scheduled trial to minimize publicity. "He doesn't want his secret to get out," the teen said.
Consalvo said she hopes the judge hands down a tough sentence.
"I want him to have the max," she said. "He is a sexual predator. ... He needs to be made an example of."
Wright, 16, told investigators that Figueroa fondled himself as he sat across from her at the food court of the upscale Mall at Millenia.
According to reports by security guards, Figueroa hurried out of the mall when approached by officers and ran toward his car.
Figueroa previously was special agent in charge of the Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico, Customs offices
