By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – A 36-year-old Hoover man who is facing allegations he sexually abused a child over a several-year period has entered pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, according to Shelby County Circuit Court records.

Miguel Amo Cartagena-Salinas, who lists an address on Hampton Park Drive in Hoover, entered the pleas on Aug. 8 during a hearing in front of Circuit Court Judge William Bostick. He is now set to appear in court for a hearing on Oct. 3 at 8:30 a.m., according to court documents.

A Shelby County grand jury indicted Cartagena-Salinas in June on charges of three counts of sexual abuse of a child under 12, rape and first-degree sodomy.

The Alabaster Police Department arrested Cartagena-Salinas on March 18, 2016, and charged him with two felony counts of sexual abuse of a child younger than 12.

Alabaster police arrested Cartagena-Salinas after investigating claims of multiple years of sexual abuse against the suspect.

According to his arrest warrants, Cartagena-Salinas allegedly sexually abused a child younger than 12 multiple times between 2006 and 2011.

He has been held in the Shelby County Jail on bonds totaling $255,000 since his arrest, which is a higher-than-normal bond set at the recommendation of the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office.

In its bond recommendation form, the DA’s office said Cartagena-Salinas “is in this country illegally and has no ties to the community,” “is a flight risk” and is facing additional charges in Jefferson County.

Sexual abuse of a child younger than 12 is a Class B felony, according to Alabama law, and is punishable by up to 20 years in prison per charge.