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Local lawmakers weigh in on Trump’s tax plan

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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The man who police say crawled into the ceiling of the pizzeria he worked at to spy on the women&#8217;s restroom pleaded no contest to three counts of child pornography Wednesday.</p><p>Juan Bermudes Prieto, 42, Hazleton, entered the plea before Luzerne County Judge David Lupas, who set sentencing for Jan. 9.</p><p>A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but it is an acknowledgment that the prosecution has enough evidence to prove its case. Under such a plea, defendants are sentenced as if they pleaded guilty.</p><p>Prieto must register under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, and cannot have contact with his victims, any minors, schools or other places children might be.</p><p>Prieto was initially facing 16 misdemeanor counts of invasion of privacy, but those charges were withdrawn by prosecutors.</p><p>Police say Prieto was caught in February in the ceiling over the women&#8217;s restroom at Luigi&#8217;s Pizzeria in Mountain Top.</p><p>Prieto fled when he was noticed, but later turned himself in.</p><p>Police believe he began taking photos of women from the restroom ceiling in mid-January, and continued doing so until he was caught in February.</p><p>Prieto dropped his phone during his escape, which authorities say was filled with videos of female children under age 13 and adult women in the restroom.</p><p>During his arraignment earlier this year, Prieto claimed through an interpreter that he is not the type of person to cause trouble.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve never had any problems,&#8221; he said through the translator. &#8220;I&#8217;m not a troublesome person.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Juan Bermudes Prieto, 42, Hazleton, is led out of court during a previous appearance. He pleaded no contest Wednesday to three counts of child pornography. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_PRieto.jpg</photo0><caption0>Juan Bermudes Prieto, 42, Hazleton, is led out of court during a previous appearance. He pleaded no contest Wednesday to three counts of child pornography. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Patrick Kernan</p><p>pkernan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @PatKernan</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Alleged peeping Tom pleads no contest to child porn counts