GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — An Ottawa County man who repeatedly raped a six-year-old girl, warning her not to tell anyone, has lost a bid to have his prison sentence reduced a second time.
Antonio Luis Rivera got his sentence shortened last year; the state Court of Appeals this week said that was enough. Rivera is serving a 5-½ to 15-year term for assaulting his girlfriend’s daughter in Ottawa County three years ago.
Rivera, 38, argued that his reduced sentence for second-degree criminal sexual conduct still exceeded recommended guidelines.
Justices said the upward departure is warranted because of the victim’s age, the number of assaults and the pain the child endured.
Also weighing against Rivera was evidence that he sexually abused his own biological daughter, “which demonstrated that Rivera lacked rehabilitation potential and that he posed a danger to young children,’’ justices wrote in a four-page decision.
Details of the case are disturbing, to be sure. Rivera, who stands 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 205 pounds, isolated the girl in a bathroom and forced her to sit on him naked on more than 10 occasions, court records show.
“I tried to get off, but he wouldn’t let me . . . it hurts a lot,’’ the girl said. She stated that she was scared to tell anyone because Rivera warned her not to, according to court records.
Police were summoned after the girl displayed inappropriate sexual behavior, saying she learned it from Rivera.
At trial, Ottawa County jurors heard from Rivera’s 20-year-old biological daughter, who testified that she was also sexually assaulted by Rivera when she was five to six years old.
Rivera “asked her if she wanted a sucker and that when she said yes, he blindfolded her and put his penis in her mouth,’’ court records show. “She remembered that when the defendant was starting a bath for her, she was bleeding, but could not recall why.’’
The jury in 2016 found Rivera guilty of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. He was initially sentenced to between 7 and 15 years in prison.
The Court of Appeals last year upheld his conviction, but said the sentence was too long. And while the new sentence of 5-½ to 15 years is still above the guideline range, the sentence is fair, the appeals court said this week.
“There were circumstances surrounding the offense and the offender that were not accounted for by the guidelines, including that the child experienced pain when she was sexually assaulted and that Rivera had previously abused his biological daughter when she was five or six years old,’’ the appeals court wrote.
“On this record, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by imposing a sentence outside the guidelines range,’’ justices wrote.
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