By JOHN MANGALONZO

jmangalonzo@thehawkeye.com

Wilfredo Alvarez III, the 20-year-old Burlington man accused of having sex with a teenage girl, will face a jury on the charge of third-degree sexual abuse April 6.

In December, Alvarez's attorney requested a "pre-plea" presentence investigation so they could decide how they wanted to proceed with the case. Often, once a the document is completed and submitted to the court, a plea agreement soon follows.

If convicted on the charge, Alvarez faces up to 10 years in prison, with the inclusion of special sentencing guidelines that could place him on parole for the rest of his life.

In August, Des Moines County jail officials listened in on a phone call supposedly between Alvarez and someone who sounded like a young girl. The man was in jail during that time on a variety of charges.

Authorities reportedly heard the girl, who was 15 at the time, tell Alvarez she was two months pregnant with his child.

Alvarez, during an interview with detectives, allegedly did not deny having sex with the girl, saying it happened several times, starting when the girl was 14.

He insisted he did not force the girl to have sex with him.

According to the girl's mother, her daughter has been checked by a doctor and is not pregnant.

Attorneys are estimating it will take two days to try the case.