District Man Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison For Sexually Abusing Nine-Year-Old Boy-Defendant Repeatedly Abused Child Over Six-Month Period-

     WASHINGTON - A 49-year-old man, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for sexually abusing a nine-year-old male relative, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     The man, who is not identified here to protect the privacy of the victim and his family, was found guilty by a jury in December 2013, of first-degree child sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Russell F. Canan.  Upon completion of his prison term, the man will be placed on five years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

     According to the government’s evidence, the defendant repeatedly sexually abused the victim in 2009 during a six-month period in which he and the victim lived together in Laurel, Md. One incident took place in Washington D.C., at the defendant’s place of employment.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the agencies that investigated the case, including the Laurel, Md., Police Department and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD)’s Youth Investigations Division. He also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, and the Department of Justice, as well as the Children’s Advocacy Center, which provided critical services and treatment to the victim. In addition, he acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Child Forensic Interview Specialist Karen Giannakoulias; Paralegal Specialist Donhue Griffith; the Litigation Support Unit, including Litigation Technology Specialists Paul Howell and Joseph Calvarese, and the Victim Witness Assistance Unit, including Victim/Witness Advocates Melissa Milam and Elsa Resendiz. Finally, he praised the work of Criminal Investigator Mark Crawford and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsay Suttenberg, who indicted and prosecuted the case.