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St. George » Prosecutors have dropped sexual abuse charges against a St. George couple after determining pictures of the father kissing his naked infant son were scenes of affection, not abuse.

But the undocumented immigrant couple may yet be deported and their U.S.-born son is still in state custody.

The father, 34-year-old Sergio Diaz-Palomino, was arrested March 9 after a photo-processing employee at the St. George Walgreens called police to report seeing two allegedly questionable images of him kissing the baby.

The sequence of several photos shows a smiling father posing with the boy, according to a motion to dismiss filed Friday in 5th District Court. They show him affectionately holding the baby, kissing his head, forehead and ear. Two of the photos show the father kissing the son's buttocks and genitals.

"These images are consistent with traditional family photos of a proud father with his son," Deputy Washington County Attorney Ryan Shaum wrote.

While two of the photos "raise legitimate questions" about the behavior, "in context, the actions lack sexual intent," Shaum added.

For a St. George police officer, however, the photos appeared to be pornographic, said police Lt. James Van Fleet. The photos were the sole evidence for the arrests, Van Fleet said.

The initial charges were filed based on the officer's written report. In cases of child pornography, prosecutors typically rely on police statements, said Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap, adding that he believed the Walgreens employee acted appropriately. But sometime this week, an unidentified St. George Police detective called Shaum and said he needed to take a close look at the photos.

The baby was not examined until this week because the child was with his mother, 22-year-old Alma Vasquez. She was arrested Monday. He was taken into the custody of Division of Child and Family Services. Examination results received Friday showed no abuse.

Diaz-Palomino's attorney, Kent Combs, said the images were of a father being affectionate with his 9-month-old son.

"From our perspective, it was an innocent thing," he said. "I have a lot of respect for the prosecutor; I think he did the right thing."

Diaz-Palomino and Vasquez were still being held at the Washington County jail Saturday on an immigration hold.

"The mother is very worried about the baby," said Vasquez's cousin, Aurelio Martinez. "I'm very upset about the baby being taken away just like that."

Martinez spoke through an interpreter, Georgina Coon, who is an advocate with the La Raz/PAC, a Latino advocacy organization.

"Latino people are affectionate. We kiss the little babies anywhere because they love them," Coon said. "It has nothing to do with sexual interaction."

She was hopeful Saturday that the couple could be released on bail, and possibly allowed to stay in the country.

But Al Boyack, an attorney representing the mother, said he expected his client to be deported. It isn't clear when her child, Alex Uril Vasquez, may be returned to his parents.

The boy's U.S. citizenship "really represents a problem for them ... My best-case scenario is to get mom out of the clinker and get custody of the child from DCFS and let them leave the country together."

Diaz-Palomino is from Veracruz, Mexico, and has been in the U.S. for 10 years. He works at a Red Robin restaurant in St. George, Martinez said.

Vasquez was born in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, and came to the U.S. three years ago. She worked at a Motel 6. Their son is their only child. They are not married, but are in a committed relationship.

Neither had been in trouble with the law before, Martinez said.

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