Alvidrez Pleads Guilty to Reduced Rape Charge

An Enumclaw martial arts instructor who last year was accused of having sexual relations with a then-15-year-old female student pleaded guilty last week in King County Superior Court to one count of third-degree attempted rape of a child.

Samuel Shane Alvidrez, 51, initially pleaded not guilty to two counts at his arraignment in June 2011. He accepted a plea agreement on Sept. 17 and entered an Alford plea of guilty to the reduced single count.

In his plea agreement, Alvidrez wrote, "Although I believe I am not guilty of this crime, I am entering an Alford plea of guilty solely to take advantage of the state's plea offer to reduce the charges to a single count of Att. ROC 3 and to avoid putting [the alleged victim] through a trial. I have reviewed all of the police reports, witness interviews and possible defenses with my attorney Richard Warner and I believe in spite of my maintaining my innocence, there is a substantial likelihood a judge or jury could find me guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."

Attempts to reach Warner were unsuccessful.

Charging documents from the King County Prosecutor’s Office accuse Alvidrez of having sexual relations with a female student between March 1, 2010, and June 30, 2010, at his residence and at his former martial arts studio, where he was an instructor.

In a statement of probable cause, former Enumclaw Police Lt. Eric Sortland wrote that the sexual activity between Alvidrez and his teen student continued into 2011.

Alvidrez had been free on his own personal recognizance since his arraignment with a no-contact order with minors without adult supervision. His trial had not yet started when he entered his guilty plea to the reduced charge last week, said Dan Donohoe of the King County Prosecutor's Office.

"We resolved the case after plea negotiations," Donohoe said in an email to Patch. "In the plea agreement, the defendant takes responsibility for the crime, he will be required to register as a sex offender, and the victim will be spared from having to testify at trial."

The maximum penalty for reduced charge is 364 days jail time and a $5,000 fine. The sentence range on the original charges (two counts of rape of a child third degree) was 26 to 34 months, Donohoe said.

Alvidrez's conditions will need to be approved by the judge during his sentencing, which is scheduled for Oct. 26 in Kent.