City man sentenced to 3 years in attempted sex assault

BRIDGEPORT — A local woman, who woke up to find herself coated in baby shampoo with a naked man on top of her could not bring herself to come to court Wednesday and face the man again.

“It's a humiliating set of facts and was a terrifying ordeal for the victim,” Senior Assistant State's Attorney David Applegate told Superior Court Judge Kevin Russo as Hiram

Heredia stood before the judge for sentencing.

The judge then sentenced the 39-year-old Heredia, who previously pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree sexual assault for the 2019 crime, to eight years, suspended after Heredia serves three years in prison and followed by five years of probation.

The judge also ordered Heredia to register as a sex offender.

“The facts of this case are beyond believable but thankfully there were no aggravating facts that we often hear with sexual assaults,” the judge said.

“I wish the victim had been here so that I could apologize to her in person,” Heredia told the judge. “I am going to take the time while I am incarcerated to reflect on my life.”

Heredia's lawyer, Daniel Ford, told the judge that his client agreed to plead guilty to spare the victim from having to come to court and relive the incident.

Applegate said the victim did not oppose the plea bargain but wanted to ensure Heredia admitted what he had done. He said the victim knew Heredia, but they were not involved in a relationship.

Police said in January 2019, the woman woke up in her bedroom in the middle of the night and found a man on top of her. When she realized it was not her husband who was asleep in the bed next to her, police said she screamed, and the naked man jumped off the bed.

The woman then realized part of her body was coated in baby shampoo, police said.

“I woke and there was baby soap all over me,” she stated, according to police.

Police said the woman shook her husband awake and yelled at him that a man had just tried to rape her. The husband got up and ended up chasing the naked Heredia out of the house and down the street before losing him, police said.

When officers arrived at the home, they spotted a pile of clothing the assailant had left by the bed. Inside a pants pocket, police said they found a wallet containing Heredia's Connecticut identification card and his Social Security card.