San Diego
A former nurse’s assistant convicted of raping an 11-year-old comatose patient on Christmas morning in a rehabilitation facility was sentenced Friday to 13 years in prison.
The maximum term was handed down to Noel Sanchez, 23, of Clairemont, who was convicted of rape and child molestation of the girl, who was in the facility because she had suffered brain damage in a car accident.
Sanchez was convicted Oct. 18 by a San Diego Superior Court jury, which also found that the girl suffered great bodily injury in the incident at the Lake Erie Institute of Rehabilitation in San Diego.
Judge Laura Hammes imposed eight years for the rape plus five years for the great bodily injury and fined Sanchez $1,000.
The parents of the girl, who are from Riverside County, spoke in court for a stern sentence.
“We’re just asking for justice for our daughter. We’re torn apart because of this,” said her father.
The girl has since been moved to her parents’ house, where she receives nursing care. She has improved to the point of saying a a few words but still has severe brain damage.
Saying Sanchez took advantage of a position of trust, Hammes said, “he has damaged his entire profession.”
Sanchez and the rehab facility have been sued by the girl’s parents.
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