FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C. — A man has pled guilty to raping a teen girl in Winston-Salem after using his job as a maintenance man to get inside her apartment.
On Friday, Jose Angel Rios, 57, pled guilty to Statutory Rape of a Child, Second-Degree Forcible Rape, and four counts of Indecent Liberties with a Child in Forsyth County Superior Court before the Honorable Richard S. Gottlieb, Resident Superior Court Judge Presiding.
The State’s evidence showed that on July 20, 2021, the Winston-Salem Police Department (WSPD) responded to a call regarding a sexual assault that occurred at the Falcon Pointe Apartment complex.
The detectives from the WSPD began the investigation immediately learning that a 15-year-old girl, who lived in the apartment complex, had been sexually assaulted by Rios, who was working as a maintenance man at the apartment complex.
Further investigation revealed that Rios manipulated his way into the victim’s home while she was alone; the suspect identified himself as a maintenance worker and stated that he was there to replace the kitchen counter tops.
Once inside the apartment, the State’s evidence showed that Rios asked to use a computer and then showed the victim pornography before touching and sexually assaulting her.
The victim was treated at Brenner Child’s Hospital and was found to have suffered injuries consistent with sexual assault.
Rios was interviewed by lead investigator Detective T.R Albert of the Winston-Salem Police Department’s Special Victim’s Unit and he admitted engaging in sexual acts with the victim.
DNA collected from the victim’s rape kit also positively identified the defendant as the assailant.
Assistant District Attorney Kia Chavious prosecuted this child predator.
Ms. Chavious spoke on behalf of the victim in court; she shared that the victim and her family have been traumatized by the physical and psychological effects of the defendant’s assault of the victim.
The family shared their collection sense of fear that comes with their daughter being assaulted in their home; the family still deals with the sense of betrayal that the defendant used his employment at the apartment complex to take advantage of his job and position of trust as a maintenance worker to commit this heinous crime in their family home.
This plea spared the victim from testifying and reliving the trauma in court.
Judge Richard S. Gottlieb of Forsyth County consolidated the offenses for judgement pursuant to a plea agreement and sentenced Rios to an active term of imprisonment of 144-233 months in the North Carolina Department of Corrections.
Rios was also ordered to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his natural life. He was represented by Assistant Public Defender Daniel Wanderman.
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