Though a 36-year-old Lawrence man convicted of a child sex crime will be released from jail Friday, he may not be free for long.

Hermelindo Cano Espinobarros pleaded no contest last month to indecent liberties with a child. On Friday, Douglas County District Judge Paula Martin sentenced him to 18 months’ probation.

However, Espinobarros has been in the Douglas County Jail since his arrest in Fall 2013, meaning he has served about seven more months than his sentence requires. With time-served credit, Espinobarros will be released Friday.

Hermelindo Cano Espinobarros

But Espinobarros is not a legal resident of the United States, and prosecutor Mark Simpson told Martin Friday that it was his “understanding that (Espinobarros) will be deported.”

That means Immigration and Customs Enforcement could rearrest Espinobarros as soon as he is released, but a federal immigration judge would be the ultimate authority to decide whether Espinobarros should be sent to his native Mexico, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Espinobarros’ charge stems from an incident between Jan. 6 and Jan. 14 of 2013 when a 15-year-old girl knocked on his door and asked Espinobarros if he would like to pay to have sex with her, according to preliminary hearing testimony. Espinobarros agreed, and did so.

Espinobarros was originally charged with aggravated indecent liberties with a child and buying sexual relations in October 2013, but pleaded down to the indecent liberties with a child charge as part of a plea agreement.

“This is a very serious crime and (Espinobarros) needs to be punished for it,” Simpson said at the hearing Friday.

The case was connected to that of Crescenciano Donato Hilario, who was sentenced to nearly five years in prison after pleading no contest in April 2013 to one count of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. Prosecutors had accused Hilario of having sex with the same minor girl who had become intoxicated at a party at a Lawrence apartment complex in January.

Simpson said in court that if Espinobarros is deported, it would be a federal crime if he ever re-enters the country.

While Espinobarros is in the United States, he will have to register as a sexual offender for the next 25 years in the United States and be on parole for the rest of his life.

Prior to this case, Espinobarros had never been convicted of a crime in the United States, Martin said.