Abington man admits sexual assault
An Abington man admitted to sexually assaulting an Ambler woman and is in jail awaiting his fate from a judge.
“He admitted to sexually assaulting the woman, to having sex with her without her consent. It’s a horrific crime.”
_Montgomery County Prosecutor Lauren Marvel
NORRISTOWN >> An Abington man admitted to sexually assaulting an Ambler woman and is in jail awaiting his fate from a judge.
Leonicio SacramentoBenitez, 37, of the unit block of York Road, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court to a felony charge of sexual assault in connection with a January 2018 incident in Ambler.
Judge Todd D. Eisenberg deferred sentencing so that Sacramento-Benitez can undergo a psychosexual evaluation prior to sentencing. The judge remanded Sacramento-Benitez to the county jail without bail to await his sentencing hearing later this year.
Sacramento-Benitez faces a possible maximum sentence of 5-to-10-years in prison on the charge. However, state sentencing guidelines also could allow for a lesser sentence.
Assistant District Attorney Lauren Marvel vowed to seek a lengthy prison sentence against SacramentoBenitez.
“He admitted to sexually assaulting the woman, to having sex with her without her consent. It’s a horrific crime,” Marvel said.
The investigation began on Feb. 1, 2018, when the Ambler woman, “emotionally upset and crying,” appeared at the borough police station to report that she had been sexually assaulted by Sacramento-Benitez on Jan. 30 inside her residence along Forest Avenue, detectives wrote in an arrest affidavit.
The victim, who knew Sacramento-Benitez, was transported to an area hospital for evaluation and treatment.
The woman told detectives that she rebuffed Sacramento-Benitez’s advances, to which he replied “that she was going to be with him like it or not,” according to the criminal complaint filed by Ambler Detective Sgt. Chad Cassel.
“(The victim) was pushing him away telling him no but he continued to have sex with her,” Cassel alleged. “Sacramento-Benitez held (the victim) down by grabbing her wrists.”
The woman said Sacramento-Benitez threatened to kill her if she ever contacted police.
“This was a case where a defendant felt like he should be able to control this woman and when she tried to tell him ‘No,’ he tried to show her otherwise by sexually assaulting her,” Marvel alleged. “She had the courage to come forward to the police and tell them what happened.”
As a result of the conviction, Sacramento-Benitez faces a lifetime requirement to report his address to state police in order to comply with Pennsylvania’s Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act.
Officials said SacramentoBenitez also is being held on a detainer issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and potentially faces deportation proceedings at a later date.