Yonkers man sentenced to prison for repeated rape, sexual assault of child

Mike Randall, Rockland/Westchester Journal News
·2 min read
17

A Yonkers man was sentenced this week to 50 years in state prison after being convicted of repeatedly sexual assaulting a child.

Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah said Virgilio Cruz, 48, received the maximum sentence possible, two consecutive sentences of 25 years in prison.

According to Rocah, beginning in 2019 when the child was 11, and continuing into 2021, Cruz repeatedly subjected the child to sexual intercourse, in some cases while the child was asleep.

During one incident, when the child was 14, Cruz engaged in a struggle with the child, and pinned down and raped the child. The child then reported the rape and the history of sexual conduct with Cruz to a parent.

Rocah said when Cruz was confronted by the parent, he tried to stab himself with a kitchen knife, and the police were called. Yonkers police arrested Cruz on Sept. 23, 2021.

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After a week-long trial, a jury found Cruz guilty of first-degree course of sexual conduct with a child and first- and second-degree rape, all felonies, on Sept. 16.

Cruz's defense attorney, Richard Ferrante, said his client maintains his innocence and plans to appeal.

Rocah said that in a statement to the court on Tuesday, the child explained the impact of Cruz's actions.

"You ruined my childhood," the child's statement said in part. "I felt horrible for so long...I didn't want to be around people. I was numb...I never knew what you would do next, or what more you were capable of...The two emotions I felt constantly were fear and sadness. You had no right to do what you did to me. After today, I won't ever think of you again...After today, you are nothing to me."

Rocah said, "We hope the victim, who was extraordinarily brave and testified in court, can begin their journey to healing and feeling safe."

Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record, the Poughkeepsie Journal and the Journal News/lohud. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com or on Twitter @MikeRandall845.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Yonkers man sentenced for raping, sexually assaulting child