The man who raped a West Hartford runner two years ago was sentenced Thursday to 18 years in prison. But that’s not what the victim wanted. She wanted her attacker, Eddie Monroig-Rosario, to stand trial and face the maximum sentence for sexual assault, which is 20 years.
She is also upset with the structure of the 18 year sentence set forth in a plea agreement he accepted earlier this month.
In the plea deal, 15 years of his sentence are served concurrent with time for previous burglary charges.
The victim said she feels as though the sexual assault charges are merely a “three year tack on to the burglaries.”
In court Thursday, the victim showed up to read a statement to the judge, calling for a harsher sentence.
She was joined in court by several runners from the West Hartford community who support her efforts.
While she wasn’t ready to talk on camera directly after the sentencing, she did talk later exclusively with Fox CT by phone.
“I still feel like he’s not getting a full amount of what he deserves,” the victim said.
She said she understands the judge’s point of view but that she still questions statements made by the state prosecutor handling her case.
“There were points where she was, I felt like, attacking me and defending my attacker,” the victim said.
Fellow West Hartford runners such as Irene Bassock showed up in court to support the victim.
“Pretty much it’s a get out of jail free card. he took the weekend off, raped someone and he’s serving a concurrent sentence?” Bassock said.
The prosecutor explained that going to trial does not guarantee a guilty verdict and could lead to less time spent locked up.
The judge listened as the victim, her father and fellow runner Stephanie Blozy (who organized support from runners) read aloud statements pushing for a harsher sentence.
Ultimately, the judge said this will stand out as a sentencing for sexual assault rather than for burglaries, which was one of the victim’s original concerns.