Bensalem Man Pleads No Contest in Rape of 13-Year-Old

A Bensalem man whose trial was to begin Tuesday related to the alleged rape of a 13-year-old girl instead entered a no contest plea in Bucks County Court, according to the Bucks County Courier Times.

Armando Palacio, 29, was arrested in August and charged with felony counts of rape forcible compulsion, sexual assault, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault of someone under age 16, and aggravated indecent assault without consent stemming from an alleged incident involving a girl in October 2009, according to court records.

He awaits sentencing following the completion of a Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act evaluation in about three months, according to the newspaper.

According to Law.com, no contest pleas are not an admission of guilt for the crime, but judges treat such pleas as an admission "and proceed to find the defendant guilty as charged."

Palacio has been held in the Bucks County Correctional Facility in lieu of 10 percent of $100,000 since Aug. 24, according to court documents.