FALL RIVER, Mass. — A 22-year-old Massachusetts man was sentenced to prison earlier this month for raping and molesting his pre-teen neighbor during a Super Bowl party in February 2019, prosecutors announced Monday.
Kevin Cardona, of Attleboro, pled guilty in Fall River Superior Court on March 3 to indictments charging him with rape of a child by force and indecent assault and battery on a person under the age of 14, according to Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III.
The incident occurred at the victim’s family’s home in Attleboro during a watch party for the New England Patriots-Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl game. Cardona, who was 18 at the time, entered the girl’s bedroom where he first molested her and then raped her while covering her mouth, prosecutors said.
On the Monday after Super Bowl Sunday, the victim reported the incident to her therapist, who notified the Attleboro Police Department. Detectives subsequently recovered the victim’s underwear, which tested positive for sperm that matched Cardona’s DNA.
Judge Raffi Yessayan sentenced Cardona to serve three to five years in state prison, followed by five years of supervised probation.
In a statement, Quinn said, “The defendant took advantage of his access to the victim, and her young age, to sexually assault her. I am pleased he has been held accountable for his deviant behavior.”
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