A New Jersey man accused of sexual assault by six girls was reportedly launched by a decide earlier this 12 months on time served — enraging the mom of 1 sufferer who known as the measly sentence “not even a slap on the wrist.”
The accusations towards Eridson Rodriguez, 26, had stacked up rapidly in September 2020, which is when two younger girls accused him of sexually assaulting them whereas they have been drunk and incapacitated throughout gatherings at his dwelling in Hamilton, New Jersey a few 12 months earlier, NJ.com reported.
Authorities charged Rodriguez with 4 counts of felony intercourse assault after a year-long investigation. As soon as they introduced the case, 4 different girls got here ahead and stated Rodriguez had sexually assaulted them, as nicely.
A decide despatched him to jail forward of his trial, and prosecutors introduced a 20-count indictment that included two expenses of aggravated sexual assault of a helpless sufferer, based on the information outlet.
However in February, he took a plea deal on a single cost of aggravated legal sexual contact. That allowed him to stroll on “time served” — that means the 882 days he had already spent behind bars was sufficient.
He’s nonetheless required to register on the state’s intercourse offender checklist and will likely be on parole for the remainder of his life — a results of the one cost of aggravated legal sexual contact to which he pleaded responsible, NJ.com stated.
However that’s not practically sufficient for the mother of one of many alleged victims, who advised the newspaper that she “can’t imagine how little justice was served.”
“This has brought about lots of ache, and I nonetheless can’t imagine how little justice was served for these younger girls,” stated the livid mom, who NJ.com didn’t determine as a result of it will successfully identify her daughter.
“It takes my breath away,” she stated, including that one in all Rodriguez’s accusers noticed the convicted intercourse offender at a bar between his February responsible plea and his June sentencing.
“It makes me really feel like we haven’t developed, that ladies usually are not necessary within the state of New Jersey.”
Rodriguez’s lawyer, Robin Lord, advised the paper that the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Workplace bungled the case by asking for different individuals with comparable allegations to return ahead. After they did, she stated, the accusations didn’t maintain up.
Her consumer additionally reportedly needed to reject the plea deal however reconsidered.
“He needed to go to trial, however he additionally needed to get out of jail, so he compromised,” Lord stated.
Neither the prosecutor’s workplace nor the prosecutor who dealt with the case commented to NJ.com.
However the accuser’s mother advised the web site that she doesn’t blame the prosecutor, who did his “degree finest” with what he had. Nonetheless, she worries as a result of Rodriguez isn’t listed on the web registry, probably due to the offender tier he’s in.
Prosecutors want extra instruments to assault such instances, she stated.
“Ladies matter. Younger ladies matter,” she stated. “They don’t get sufficient justice.”
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