Virginia Man Sentenced To 12 Years In Prison For Sexual Assault In Southeast Washington-Defendant Laughed As EMTs Carried Unconscious Victim Out Of Apartment-

     WASHINGTON – Jose Santos, Jr., 24, of Falls Church, Va., was sentenced today to 12 years in prison on charges stemming from a sexual assault of a woman in June of 2013, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Santos was found guilty by a jury in March 2014, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, of first-degree sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances.  He was sentenced by the Honorable Rhonda Reid Winston. Following his prison term, Santos will be placed on five years of supervised release. He also must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.     

     According to the government’s evidence, Santos and the victim met during the week of the attack and had gotten together twice. On June 27, 2013, they agreed to get together a third time, and they socialized at an apartment in Southeast Washington with friends. In the midst of a consensual sexual encounter between Santos and the victim, Santos forcefully, and without the victim’s consent, grew violent and sexually assaulted her.

     The victim’s injuries required several immediate surgeries, and she nearly died from having lost so much blood due to internal trauma. After the assault, Santos was seen bragging about what he had done by the emergency medical personnel who responded to the scene.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit.   He also praised those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Lezlie Richardson, Paralegal Specialists D’Yvonne Key and Jason Manuel, and Litigation Technology Specialist Kimberly Smith.  Finally, he commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mervin A. Bourne, Jr., and Jeff Cook, who prosecuted the case at trial.