SCRANTON - A Taylor man who pleaded no contest to raping a 5-year-old girl was sentenced today to life plus 20 to 40 years in prison by Lackawanna County Judge Michael Barrasse.
Felix E. Montoya, of 270 Tamworth Drive, was charged with raping a child and causing serious injuries, aggravated assault and burglary.
The mandatory minimum sentence for the crimes was 15 years, but prosecutors sought a life sentence.
In sentencing Mr. Montoya before a packed courtroom, Judge Barrasse referred to a letter Mr. Montoya wrote in which he described the brutal rape as a "big mistake."
"It was more than a mistake," the judge said. "It was a heinous and brutal crime."
Mr. Montoya slipped into the girl's bedroom after showing up at an Independence Day picnic thrown by the girl's family in their yard. Although unknown to the family, Mr. Montoya attended as a friend of a friend.
The girl went to bed about 10:30 p.m. At 2 a.m. Sunday, her parents began to clean up and checked on their children, only to find the victim's door locked. The mother knocked on the door and after a few moments, the girl opened it and ran out, her face red and swollen and her underwear on backward.
Mr. Montoya was found under a bed wearing only tennis shoes and a T-shirt, police said. The father entered the room and cornered the man until police arrived.
The girl was treated at a hospital for injuries to her face and head, bite marks on her thigh and shoulder and severe rape-related injuries, police said.
http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/man...r-old-1.592084
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