41-year-old sentenced to 25 years for attempted sexual battery of 11-year-old
The undocumented immigrant at the center of a 2022 Amber Alert in Escambia County will spend 25 years in a Florida prison after pleading no contest to child sex charges.
Brijido Manriquez-Ortiz, who illegally remained in the United States after his work visa expired in 2020, was sentenced after pleading no contest to attempted sexual battery of a child under 12 years old. Circuit Judge John Simon told Manriquez-Ortiz he's lucky the prosecutor offered him a deal.
"Frankly, Mr. Ortiz, apparently the state attorney already gave you a break, because you were originally charged with sexual battery on a victim under the age of 12 years, which is a capital felony," Simon said before levying the sentence. "Which means if you were convicted of that or pled to that, that's life without parole — you'd never come out of prison again.
"Frankly, these type (of) crimes really concern me," Simon added. "You're 41 years old, and you're charged with having the knowledge that it's inappropriate to have sex with a child under the age of 12."
The child's father spoke during the sentencing, saying he treated Manriquez-Ortiz like family and he should pay for his actions.
"We are humans, and sometimes we make mistakes," the father said. "But sometime we need to pay for those mistakes."
Speaking through a translator, Manriquez-Ortiz asked for the lowest permissible sentence since he has a family to support.
"Believe me, I am very sorry," he told the court. "I have never in my life gone through this. I am not that type of person.
"If you could find it in your heart to give me the least amount of time I would really appreciate it," he added.
Manriquez-Ortiz will also be designated as a sexual predator.
Brijido Manriquez-Ortiz thought to be involved in 2022 Amber Alert
Manriquez-Ortiz, who is originally from Hidalgo, Mexico, and began working at Steve's Catfish Farm in Walnut Hill, first came to law enforcement's attention on July 28, 2022, after an 11-year-old girl disappeared.
Escambia County Sheriff's deputies believed Manriquez-Ortiz had kidnapped the girl and an Amber Alert was issued after the girl's bedroom window screen was found to be cut open, but an investigation later determined Manriquez-Ortiz had not been present during the girl's disappearance as the child's father personally drove him to Atlanta, Georgia, after the girl and Manriquez-Ortiz were found "in a kissing situation."
Amber Alert: 11-year-old Escambia County, Florida girl found safely in Foley
The child was located in Foley, Alabama, and Manriquez-Ortiz was found in Laredo, Texas, on July 29. It was reported that an "unidentified Hispanic male" was driving the truck, "but left the area on foot prior to the arrival of law enforcement," according to arrest reports.
An investigation also found Manriquez-Ortiz had allegedly sent "sexually explicit texts and photographs" to the child, according to arrest reports.
After FBI agents found him in Laredo, Texas, he was booked into jail and extradited to Escambia County.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Brijido Manriquez-Ortiz gets 25 years in Pensacola sex battery case
