Man sentenced to 15-plus years for attempted rape of woman along Topeka's Shunga Trail
A Topeka woman in her mid-70s suffered lasting emotional scars last August when Jose J. Arteaga sexually assaulted her from behind along the Shunga Trail in southwest Topeka, she told the sentencing judge in a letter.
The attack also inflicted a permanent facial scar, said that communication, which was written Jan. 10 and read aloud Wednesday at Arteaga's sentencing hearing by assistant Shawnee County District Attorney Shannon Szambecki.
The victim, who wasn't present, said in her letter that Arzeate damaged her sense of safety and left her unable — at the time she wrote it — to travel long distances, take walks with her husband or play outside with her grandchildren.
The victim said she supported a plea agreement, reached by attorneys for the prosecution and defense, aimed at keeping the 30-year-old Arteaga in prison until he's 45.
Still, she asked that Arteaga receive access to counseling and job training to enable him to become a productive member of society once he gets out.
How long is Arteaga's sentence?
Sentencing Judge Maban Wright described the attack upon the woman in her 70s as being "the kind of crime, I think, that shakes our confidence in the public safety."
She said the victim had been more generous and compassionate toward Arteaga than she thought many people in this community would have been.
Wright then sentenced Arteaga to a total of 15 years, two months in prison, which was the amount specified in the plea agreement.
What were the circumstances of the attack?
Arteaga was unemployed at the time of the attack, he said Wednesday in response to a question from Wright.
He chose not to exercise his option of making of statement before being sentenced.
Wednesday's hearing was scheduled after Arteaga pleaded guilty in February to one felony count each of attempted rape, attempted criminal sodomy and aggravated battery, and a misdemeanor count of sexual battery.
The latter count was linked to a case in which a woman, who was born in 2000, fled about 6 p.m. Aug. 15 after a male stranger struck her on the buttocks as she walked along the Shunga Trail in southwest Topeka, court records said.
That woman subsequently returned to her car, saw the man sitting on a park bench and shot a photo of him, records said.
Later that same evening, a woman born in 1949 suffered facial fractures and a broken leg when the same man attacked her and tried to rape and sodomize her as she walked on the trail, court records said.
The woman was walking with her husband, who was walking ahead of her, when they became separated, Szambecki said at Arteaga's sentencing hearing.
A stranger then came up behind the woman, yelled, forcefully threw her to the ground as she resisted and sexually assaulted her using his hand, she said. The woman suffered injuries that required two surgeries, Szambecki said.
Topeka police and Shawnee County sheriff's deputies responded Aug. 18 by initiating joint proactive enforcement along the county's entire system of trails and parks said Rosie Nichols, co-interim communications director for Topeka's city government.
Arteaga was arrested Aug. 30, according to Shawnee County Jail records.
Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Jose Arteaga sentenced to 15-plus years for sex crimes on Topeka trail
