FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 24, 2018
Contact: Heather F. Williamson
Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office
20 East Market Street
Leesburg, VA 20176-2809
(703) 777-0242
ALEXANDRIA MAN SENTENCED FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT
JUDGE IMPOSES TEN YEAR SENTENCE
LEESBURG, Virginia – September 14, 2018. Melvin Eliazar Moreno Rodriguez, 39, of Alexandria, appeared before Judge Stephen E. Sincavage in Loudoun County Circuit Court for sentencing on one count of aggravated sexual battery by force, threat, or intimidation with serious injury. Sincavage imposed a total active sentence of ten years in the Virginia Department of Corrections.
On March 17, 2017, Moreno Rodriguez was employed as a contractor in the victim’s home. While the other contractors went to lunch, Moreno Rodriguez stayed behind in the house and sexually assaulted the victim. The victim was able to fight off Moreno Rodriguez and flee from her home to get help.
A medical exam after the attack revealed Moreno Rodriguez’s DNA on the victim’s chest.
Moreno Rodriguez pleaded Nolo Contendere to the charge and was found guilty on May 7, 2018.
During the sentencing hearing, the victim and her father offered victim impact statements, along with medical evidence detailing the physical and psychological consequences of the assault. Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Donald P. Goodman III argued that Moreno Rodriguez’s actions were devastating to the victim, caused her significant physical injury, and induced post-traumatic stress disorder from which she continues to suffer. Goodman argued for a substantial penalty to be imposed. Judge Sincavage agreed, stating that “the people of the Commonwealth needed to be protected from the defendant.”
“While physical injuries are more predictable when it comes to healing, each person subject to an attack such as this, often faces unknown trauma recovery,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Plowman. “This sentence highlights and recognizes the “unseen” injuries that victims and families must deal with in the aftermath of such an offense.”
Sincavage imposed an additional ten years of suspended time. Upon his release, Moreno Rodriquez will be placed on fifteen years of supervised probation.
Pursuant to Virginia’s Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry Act, Moreno Rodriguez will also be required to register as a sex offender. Information about the Virginia’s Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry and those on it can be found on the Virginia State Police website: http://sex-offender.vsp.virginia.gov.
Moreno Rodriguez, a native of Guatemala, may be subject to a Federal Immigration Detainer, which would direct his removal from the United States upon his release.
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