Saturday, February 6, 2010

Man Sentenced to 20 Years for 2003 Rape of Darien Jogger

STAMFORD -- A man who pleaded guilty to ambushing and raping a Darien woman as she was jogging was sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday, nearly seven years after the attack.

Jose Amaya, 40, formerly of East Hartford, pleaded guilty to first-degree kidnapping and first-degree sexual assault in October. Amaya fled the United States and was extradited from Mexico in April. He was sentenced Thursday morning in state Superior Court in Stamford, said the prosecutor, State's Attorney David Cohen. After spending 20 years in prison, Amaya will spend 10 years on special parole.

In April 2003, authorities said, Amaya and Alejandro Mendez ambushed a 38-year-old woman as she was on a Sunday morning jog near Ring's End and Long Neck Point roads. The men punched and kicked her, smashed a bottle over her head and dragged her into their vehicle. They then drove her to a secluded spot of Noroton Heights and sexually assaulted her, authorities said.

The woman escaped and ran to a nearby church, authorities said.

Mendez pleaded guilty to his role in the attack and will serve 15 years.

An accomplice in the incident, Mendez was arrested in June 2003 in Los Angeles, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison two years later after pleading guilty to first-degree sexual assault and kidnapping.

Prosecutors at the time of the attack said both men were illegal immigrants working as day laborers in Norwalk. Within a month of the attack, police said they suspected Amaya had fled to Mexico. He could be deported after his release from prison, prosecutors have said.

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