A 47-year-old former New Bedford man who was illegally in the country from Honduras pleaded guilty and was sentenced on March 24 for aggravated rape of a child, indecently touching a child and witness intimidation in Bristol County Superior Court in Fall River.
The defendant, Marvin Pineda, will serve 12 to 15 years in state prison followed by 10 years of supervised probation, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced in a press release.
Pineda, an acquaintance of the 9-year-old victim’s family from their native country of Honduras, was present at the victim’s home in New Bedford on October 10, 2020, for a family birthday party, the District Attorney’s Office said.
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A 47-year-old former New Bedford man, who was illegally in the country from Honduras, pleaded guilty and was sentenced on March 24 for aggravated rape of a child, indecently touching a child and witness intimidation.
As the night grew on, the victim, her sister and Pineda’s two minor children went upstairs in the home to sleep.
The victim shared a bed with her 7-year-old sister. Pineda’s two minor children shared the second bed in the same bedroom. The victim’s adult sister then saw Pineda in the children’s bedroom hugging the victim.
When she confronted Pineda, he said he had not seen the victim in some time and was just saying hello.
The victim’s family offered to let Pineda sleep on the couch, rather than waking his own children to take home.
Victim taken to local hospital
In the morning, Pineda was not on the couch, and instead had awoken early and taken his two children from the victim’s home.
The victim reported that morning that Pineda had entered her bedroom during the previous night and raped her.
The victim was taken to a local hospital where a rape kit was performed. Pineda’s sperm cells were detected from a swab of the victim’s body.
Defendant fled the state
Pineda was determined to have fled the state as of Oct. 11, 2020. Seven days later, Pineda contacted the victim’s mother and urged her not to pursue charges and offered her compensation.
The victim’s mother reported that conversation to police. Pineda was located in Texas in November 2020 where he was apprehended and brought back to Massachusetts to answer the charges. Pineda has similar charges involving another victim that are pending in North Carolina.
Victim did not have to testify
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Casey Smith and Nicole Cheney.
“The defendant took advantage of his access to the child in her bed sleeping next to her sister. The conduct of the defendant is reprehensible. On top of that he immediately fled to Texas and tried to intimidate the victim’s mother. The defendant has similar charges pending in North Carolina. This state prison sentence is well deserved, especially without the victim having to testify,” Quinn stated.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Illegal Honduran immigrant sentenced for New Bedford child rape
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