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

STAMFORD — A Norwalk man has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a girl since she was 11.

Joan Chacua-Diaz, a 29year-old also known as Michael Chacua, pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor during a disposition hearing at the state Superior Court in Stamford on Wednesday.

The guilty pleas came as a part of a deal with state prosecutors.

Assistant State’s Attorney Margaret Moscati said Chacua-Diaz will receive a 15-year prison sentence suspended after he serves five years followed by 20 years of probation. Chacua-Diaz also will be required to register as a sex offender, Moscati said.

Chacua-Diaz was facing charges of first-degree sexual assault, illegal sexual contact with a victim, second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a child for repeated sexual assaults that took place over the course of years.

The child’s mother allegedly learned that Chacua-Diaz was sexually assaulting her then-14-yearold daughter in October 2020, police said.

After Chacua-Diaz’s arrest in November 2020 on second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury charges, police said they continued to investigate and discovered he had been sexually assaulting the girl since she was 11.

In text messages obtained by police, ChacuaDiaz’s father asked the child’s father to not report the assaults to police, according to an arrest warrant.

Chacua-Diaz has been free since December 2020 after he posted $175,000 bond. Chacua-Diaz was required at the time to turn over his passport and is prohibited from contacting the child or her family.

He is scheduled to be sentenced June 1.