Norwalk man pleads guilty to sexual assault of 11-year-old girl

STAMFORD — A Norwalk man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl in 2017.

Modesto Velasquez, 34, pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor in Stamford Superior Court as part of a plea agreement with state prosecutors.

Under the deal, Velasquez received a 15-year jail sentence suspended after five years, after which he will serve 20 years of probation.

Velasquez will also be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

According to Velasquez’s four-page arrest affidavit, Norwalk police became aware of the sexual assault in March 2018. At that time, the child told police it had been 10 months since Velasquez last assaulted her.

The victim’s mother, who only spoke Spanish, explained to police that she suspected something occurred between Velasquez and her daughter, but she was afraid to contact police because she is not in the country legally and was worried about her daughter’s immigration status, according to the affidavit.

In February 2019, the girl told her mother that Velasquez had been abusing her and then in March, told her older sister, who called the police. The 19year-old sister told police Velasquez had tried to touch her too, but he stopped when she began recording him with her cellphone, according to the affidavit.

During an interview at the Children’s Connection soon after the abuse was reported, the girl said Velasquez began touching when she started fifth grade, the affidavit said.

The girl said the time Velasquez sexually assaulted her, she started to cry and Velasquez grabbed her by the arm and told her not to tell anyone, the affidavit said.

Velasquez was arrested by police in May 2018 on charges of first-degree sexual assault, fourth-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a child. He has been held since then in lieu of $150,000 bond.

Velasquez is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 3.