Eastlake man withdraws guilty plea

Resident accused of raping children

An Eastlake man who claimed he was pressured to plead guilty to sexually assaulting two underage girls has won his fight to withdraw his plea.

Armando Gil, 58, was charged in July in a 13-count indictment, which included six counts of rape and seven counts of gross sexual imposition. The charges carried a maximum penalty of life in prison.

According to the indictment, Gil molested one of the alleged victims from September 2015 through September 2016, starting when she was 12. The crimes against the other girl occurred from December 2015 through March 2017, the indictment stated.

In November, Gil submitted an Alford plea in Lake County Common Pleas Court to two counts of rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition. An Alford plea allows a defendant to plead guilty yet maintain innocence of the charges.

As part of the plea negotiations, prosecutors agreed to recommend no more than 20 years in prison.

During the two-hour change of plea hearing, Gil stated he was not a violent person and questioned how he could be charged with using force since he would never use force. But after extended private conversations with his lawyer, he agreed to accept the plea offer.

“Gil indicated that he wanted to get the case resolved because he found the Lake County Jail to be stressful and that he wanted to get his life back on track, resume care for his autistic son and move forward,” Judge Richard L. Collins Jr. stated in his recent judgment entry.

On Dec. 6, Gil sent a letter to Collins for permission to withdraw his plea.

Gil’s Dec. 18 sentencing hearing was then canceled to allow him to hire a new lawyer. He claimed his first attorney did not fully advocate for him.

The judge found nothing to indicate Gil was coerced into making the plea deal or that he had any cognitive disability that would have prevented him from entering a knowing, intelligent and voluntary plea.

However, Collins granted the motion to withdraw because Gil was “clearly reluctant” to enter the Alford plea. Trial is March 20.

“Gil shall have an opportunity to have his case tried before a detached and neutral fact finder, a jury,” Collins stated.

Gil