La Plata, MD – Jaime Antonio Rivera, 27 of La Plata, grew up poor in El Salvador. He begged at his sentencing hearing Thursday, April 6, for Charles County Circuit Court Judge Eric Nyce and William R. Greer Jr. to allow him to return home to his mother and four brothers.
But Rivera, convicted in January of first-degree rape for sexually assaulting his 11-year-old step-daughter repeatedly over a three-year period before his arrest June 10, 2016, will not be going to El Salvador probably ever again.
Nyce sentenced the defendant to life in prison and tacked on an additional 25 years consecutive to the life sentence for sexual abuse of a minor/family member.
Charles County Assistant States Attorney Sarah K. Freeman asked for 25 years to life. Charles County Deputy Public Defender Edie Cimino asked the court to roll that back to 18 to 25 for the first-degree rape charge and another 10 to 21 for the sexual assault of a minor charge.
“I do feel a departure from the sentencing guidelines are appropriate in this matter,” Nyce explained.
The judge added that he felt the defendant was a sexual predator who preyed on his young step-daughter, causing her not only physical but emotional harm.
Nyce said it was evident throughout the trial that not only the victim, but her 8-year-old sister endured mental anguish as a result of the “heinous” acts being perpetrated upon her sister. Freeman had told the court Rivera would remove the sister from the older girl’s bed, placing her in the top bunk of the bed before assaulting the victim.
“This 8-year-old would be in the comfort of her own bed, in the comfort of her own home, and she would have to listen for the next two hours while her sister endured the most heinous type of abuse possible, probably worrying about whether or not she would be next,” the judge said. “The abuse not only to the victim but to the sister, calls for a departure from the guidelines.
“She was vulnerable,” Nyce added. “The defendant was in a position of trust. She could not even articulate what was happening to her. It was a terrible situation.”
Rivera is also scheduled to stand trial in Charles County Circuit Court April 24 in relation to a gang rape he is alleged to have been involved in.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com