Fall River Man Sentenced to 30-45 Years in Prison for Brutal Assault and Rape of 65-Year-Old Woman
Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced today that a 26-year-old Fall River man was sentenced to serve 30 to 45 years in state prison after being convicted of a litany of crimes connected to a brutal April 2013 assault and rape of a 65-year-old woman.
Christopher Stiles pleaded guilty today in Fall River Superior Court to three counts of aggravated rape, three counts of assault and battery on a person over 60-resulting in serious bodily injury, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, one count of unarmed robbery of a person over 60 and one count of burglary assault on occupant.
The defendant submitted an “unagreed plea” before Judge William Sullivan this afternoon. During the plea hearing, District Attorney Quinn argued that, based on the egregious facts of the case, the defendant should be sentenced to 30-45 years in state prison, followed by 10 years of supervised probation. Mr. Stiles’ defense requested a 25 to 35 year prison sentence.
After hearing from both sides, Judge Sullivan ordered the defendant to serve 30-45 years in state prison and also placed him on probation for 10 years. The probationary term will not begin until the defendant is released from prison. The terms of his probation include GPS monitoring, registration as a sex offender and the completion of sex offender counseling.
On the evening of April 6, 2013, the defendant forced open the front door to the victim’s apartment and immediately attacked her. During the assault, the defendant stripped the victim of her clothes and raped her repeatedly, while also punching her in the face several times, striking her in the head numerous times with a ceramic object from the home and spraying her with pepper spray.
In addition to the severe emotional injuries the victim sustained as a result of the attack, the victim also suffered a broken jaw; two fractures to her hand; permanent loss of some of the function in her right hand; head lacerations; lingering severe headaches; a broken nose; bruising from strangulation; three broken teeth and long-term bruising of the abdomen.
Although the defendant threatened to kill the victim numerous times during the assault, he eventually stopped the attack and took the victim’s car keys before driving off in her vehicle.
The case was jointly prosecuted by District Attorney Quinn and Second Assistant District Attorney Silvia Rudman.
”This was an extremely brutal and vicious crime. That is why I appeared personally to argue the sentence on this case. I applaud and admire the victim for coming to court and in a very human and personal way, describing how this brutal assault affected her both mentally and physically. I also would like to thank Judge Sullivan for accepting the Commonwealth’s recommendation for this most heinous crime,” District Attorney Quinn said. ”Special thanks to the Fall River Police Department and prosecutor Silvia Rudman for their work on this case. The victim indicated to me that the sentence would go a long way in giving her closure in this case. I was very happy to hear that and have nothing but admiration for her.”
Contact:
Gregg Miliote
Director of Communications
508-997-0711
774-292-9576—cell