MAN GETS 5 1/2 YEARS FOR SEXUALLY ASSAULTING TWO FEMALE RELATIVES

A judge in New London on Tuesday sentenced a 42-yearold New Haven man to five and a half years in prison for sexually assaulting two female family members, including a minor.

Enrique Herrazo, as part of a plea agreement that halted a planned trial, pleaded guilty in October to two counts of risk of injury to a minor and one count of third-degree sexual assault for assaults on two different victims that took place in East Haven in 2019 and at Foxwoods casino in 2018. The arrests were made by the East Haven and Mashantucket police departments.

The two victims spoke through tears in New London Superior Court on Tuesday about the devastating impact of sexual molestation by a man they had trusted. In attendance at Tuesday’s sentencing were dozens of members of the nonprofit Bikers Against Child Abuse, who arrived to show support for the victims and their families.

Superior Court Judge Shari Murphy also sentenced Herrazo to 10 years of probation after his prison term. He was ordered to register as a sexual offender and have no contact with the victims.

Herrazo also had pleaded no contest to the charges of criminal possession of a firearm and violation of a protective order for crimes committed in 2022 while the sexual assault cases were pending. The charges were incorporated into the plea agreement.

Herrazo entered the pleas in the sexual assault cases under the Alford Doctrine, which means he does not agree with all of the state’s allegations but does not want to risk a guilty verdict at trial and the potential for a harsher sentence.