Fall River Man Convicted of Vicious Rape and Assault Sentenced to Two Decades in State Prison
Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced today that a 44-year-old Fall River man was sentenced to serve two decades in state prison after being convicted late last week of a violent rape of a teenage girl in Fall River.
Eduardo Rodriguez pleaded guilty last Thursday to several charges, including rape, rape-causing substantial injury, Drugging a Victim for Sexual Intercourse, assault with intent to rape, assault and battery causing serious bodily injury, assault and battery, and wanton/reckless behavior creating a risk of serious bodily injury.
The “unagreed plea” was submitted to Superior Court Judge Rene Dupuis. Second Assistant District Attorney Silvia Rudman, who prosecuted the case, argued that the defendant should serve 30-40 years in state prison due to the egregious facts of the case and the significant injuries suffered by the victim. The defense, however, argued for a 20-21 year state prison sentence.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Dupuis sentenced Mr. Rodriguez to serve 20 to 21 years in state prison, to be followed by 35 years of supervised probation. The condition of his probation include undergoing Sex Offender Counseling; participation in a relapse program; cannot reside with any children except his own; no unsupervised contact with minors; no employment that puts him in regular contact with minors; cannot date a parent of a minor without permission of probation; must register as a sex offender; must remain on GPS monitoring while on Probation; no contact with the victim in this case; complete a batterers program; and submit DNA to the state database.
The defendant and the teenage girl were known to one another at the time of the March 2012 incident. The defendant was accused of picking up the victim from school, and instead of taking her to her home, he brought her to his own Fall River apartment. Once inside the apartment, the defendant grabbed the victim by the hair, slapped her across the face and forced her to drink vodka and swallow oxycodone pills. The defendant forced the victim onto his bed, covered her mouth and punched her several times in the face before raping her. At some point during the assault, the victim lost consciousness. The defendant then drove the unconscious victim to a strip mail in another town outside of Fall River, where he left her in the parking lot behind a grouping of retail stores.
The victim was found unresponsive the following day and was rushed to an area hospital for treatment. The injuries to her face were so severe that she required surgery after doctors discovered that her orbital bone was broken.
“I am happy to see that a substantial prison sentence was imposed for this very violent and egregious crime. This is a defendant who does not belong on the streets again,” said District Attorney Quinn. “I want to thank Silvia Rudman and the entire Fall River Police Department for their hard work and tenacity in holding this defendant accountable.”
Fall River Police Chief Daniel Racine, whose officers and detectives were crucial in building a strong case against the defendant, called the crimes particularly disturbing even to his seasoned investigators.
“This was a particularly egregious case and disturbing to seasoned police officers and prosecutors. I commend District Attorney Quinn and Chief prosecutor Silvia Rudman for their focus and tenacity in securing this significant prison sentence. Also, I commend Detective Brian Cordeiro of the Fall River Major Crimes Division for, not only his investigative work, but also his compassion for a young traumatized victim,” Chief Racine said. “Also, praise to Fall River Police Department’s crime scene Detective Thomas Faris for his expert ability in securing crime scene DNA evidence; where there appeared to be no evidence to connect the suspect to the victim.”
In an effort to protect the victim’s identity, no further details can be released by this office.
Contant:
Gregg Miliote
Director of Communications
508-997-0711
774-292-9576—cell