A Schuylkill County judge on Thursday denied the request of an undocumented immigrant from Honduras to withdraw his plea to child sex charges, and instead sentenced him to four to 10 years in state prison.

Judge John E. Domalakes said Medardo M. Amador’s request “smacks of gaming the system.”

Amador, 37, will be deported as soon as he serves his sentence. Domalakes gave him credit for the 497 days he’s already served.

The judge also ordered him to pay court costs and fees, submit his fingerprints and DNA, have no contact with his now 7-year old victim, and to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

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Amador has 30 days in which to appeal the sentence. If he does, he’ll need a new lawyer. His public defender, Michael A. O’Pake, was elected in November to district attorney and will not be able to represent him once seated.

“The courts looks with some skepticism” at Amador’s sudden request to withdraw his plea, Domalakes said.

He recalled Amador’s past shifts.

As his jury was being selected, Amador on May 31 changed his mind about going to trial, and instead pleaded no contest to charges of aggravated indecent assault of a child, aggravated indecent assault of a child less than 13 years old, indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old, and corruption of minors, filed by Tamaqua police.

Pleading no contest means that Amador acknowledged that prosecutors had sufficient evidence to prove him guilty of the charges.

A pre-sentence investigation and sex offender evaluation was ordered, and sentencing scheduled for Thursday.

But as the sentencing hearing began, O’Pake announced his client wanted to withdraw his plea.

O’Pake questioned Amador about why he wanted to withdraw the plea.

“Because I don’t feel guilty,” he said through an interpreter.

Amador said he entered the plea not fully understanding the legal process.

“I was confused,” he said through the interpreter.

But after several minutes of questioning, including at least one time when Amador answered in English before his interpreter translated for him, he admitted to Deputy Assistant District Attorney Jennifer N. Foose that he entered the plea of his own free will, and understood what the judge was saying that day.

Foose argued against Amador’s request, telling Domalakes the young victim was trying to “get closure,” and that she didn’t want the child to have to “relive this horrific event she’s trying to put behind her.”

Foose said she was also concerned that the child would have forgotten details of the assault, which happened on Easter Sunday, March 27, 2016.

Domalakes denied Amador’s request to withdraw his plea, saying it was “fully explained” to him at the time and reiterating that it “smacked of gaming the system.”

Domalakes considered the pre-sentence investigation in his sentence, but was unable to consider a sexual offender evaluation that had been done because the Superior Court on Oct. 31 ruled that the way a convicted sex offender is deemed to a sexually violent predator is unconstitutional.

Domalakes believes the ruling renders the Sexual Offenders Assessment Board — and its evaluations — moot.

Until the Superior Court decision, the offender’s case was reviewed by the state’s Sexual Offender Assessment Board, and a trial court judge ruled on the assessment at a public hearing.

If the offender was deemed a sexually violent predator, he is required to register his whereabouts and follow lifetime restrictions under Megan’s Law.

The most serious sex offenders, such as Amador, are still required to register for the rest of their lives.

Because the ruling is only weeks old, its reach and impact are still unclear.

Outside the courtroom, Foose said she was pleased with the sentence.

“A dangerous predator will be off the streets for a long period of time,” she said.

Foose also said the victim’s family is relieved the child’s ordeal is over.

O’Pake declined comment.