Belle Haven man pleads guilty to aggravated sexual battery with minor

By Linda Cicoira

A Belle Haven man admitted Thursday in Accomack Circuit Court to aggravated sexual battery involving a six-year-old girl while he was babysitting for her and her two younger sisters in the summer of 2015.

Twenty-nine-year-old Juan Antonio Granada, of Hood Lane, who was a family friend, could face a maximum of 20 years in prison and be fined $100,000. A plea bargain called for a cap on punishment at five years in prison. He was designated as a Tier 3 sex offender. Granada spent six weeks in jail before he was granted bond. A presentence report and a psychosexual evaluation were ordered.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney William Fox said the girl told authorities the incidents occurred while watching TV in the bedroom and living room. “She did not immediately tell because she thought she would be in trouble,” Fox noted.

At first, Granada said he did not remember committing the crime. The prosecutor said the defendant was given a polygraph test and “it was determined that deception was indicated during some of his responses.”

     Granada was born in Texas and moved with his family to the Eastern Shore of Virginia when he was four. Sentencing was set for Aug. 28. The victim and her family no longer live in the area.