Derby man faces up to 45 years after jury convicts him of sexually assaulting 8-year-old relative

MILFORD — A sixperson jury deliberated for about four hours before finding a Derby man guilty of sexually assaulting a minor relative nearly a decade ago.

The suspect, 38-yearold Raeon Angel, leaned slightly forward and mouthed the word, “No” as the foreman of the jury, made up of three men and three women, announced the guilty verdict on a charge of firstdegree sexual assault Tuesday morning. The jury split on two counts of illegal sexual contact with a minor, finding Angel guilty of one and not guilty of another.

He faces up to 45 years in prison at his sentencing, scheduled for May 15.

Police said that a 2016 investigation found that Angel had repeatedly sexually assaulted the girl between 2014 and 2016 at a family residence, when the victim was 8 to 9 years old, according to court documents.

The trial began Feb. 14 before Judge H. Gordon Hall, with Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Amy Bepko called the victim’s former school principal, Jennifer Olson, to the stand to relate how the allegations first surfaced.

Olson testified that, per protocol, she called the Department of Children and Families Care Line after a parent of one of the victim’s friends alerted school officials to potential abuse.

A DCF case worker and investigator responded, and took the girl into temporary custody. Derby police also began their own investigation before charging Angel two months later.

Taking the stand during the trial’s first day, the victim, now 17, was initially reluctant to share many details of the incidents, wiping tears from her eyes and saying she didn’t want to talk about what had happened in a courtroom full of people.

She said Angel sexually assaulted her in a shower at the home, and also in a bed, tearfully describing the incidents to the jury.

The jury began deliberating Friday afternoon before returning to court Tuesday and rendering a verdict.

Afterward, the judge doubled the $75,000 bond Angel had already posted in the case, and judicial marshals handcuffed him and took him into custody.

Angel’s lawyer, Paul Carty, said he was “a little surprised” by the verdicts given the evidence in the case. He said he expects Angel to file an appeal.