The illegal immigrant who sexually assaulted a 5-year-old Damariscotta girl in June 2011 is unlikely to live in the U.S. again outside of a prison.
Elfido Marroquin-Aldana, 31, a native of Guatemala and resident, in recent years, of New York City, Boston, Chicago and, briefly, Damariscotta, was sentenced to 24 years in prison Nov. 30.
Justice Jeffrey Hjelm said he expects the Dept. of Corrections to release Marroquin-Aldana into the custody of federal authorities after he completes his sentence, probably for deportation.
If he does stay in the U.S. after his prison sentence, he would remain on supervised release for 25 years.
The conditions of release would require electronic monitoring of Marroquin-Aldana, and require him to engage in counseling for sex offenders and register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
The conditions prohibit Marroquin-Aldana from contact with the victim or her family and from unsupervised contact with any child less than 16 years old. He must pay $4760 in restitution in order to reimburse the girl’s family for her counseling bills.
The parents of the young victim addressed the court during the 4 1/2-hour sentence hearing in Lincoln County Superior Court.
Her father talked about the effect of the crime on his daughter, his family, his health and his relationship with his wife, and about the emotions he has felt during the 18 months since the crime.
“But we’re about forgiveness and we’re about hope; hope that justice will be done and we’ll get through it,” he said. “[She] will get through it, but there are scars that will be there for a lifetime.”
The girl’s mother talked about the toll of the assault on her daughter, who does not feel safe and suffers from panic attacks.
“He stole [her] innocence. He stole her trust. She is not the same right now,” she said. “[She] was raped and that will not go away if this man spent 10, 15, 20, 30 years in jail.”
Marroquin-Aldana’s defense attorney, Sherry Tash, asked for “no more than 20 years,” the minimum sentence allowable under Maine law.
She described her client as a caring and compassionate man who, despite growing up “very poor” in Guatemala and surviving a series of tragedies, including “his father’s murder in front of him at a very young age,” managed to acquire a good education and strong job skills.
The nature of Marroquin-Aldana’s crime, the fact that he speaks only Spanish and his short stature and slight build will all make him vulnerable in prison, she said.
Marroquin-Aldana’s mother and his longtime partner also addressed the court, speaking through interpreters because both, like Marroquin-Aldana, speak only Spanish.
Marroquin-Aldana’s partner said the couple’s three children, including a 13-year-old boy, a 9-year-old girl and another girl, “had to stop taking classes because I can’t pay for classes any longer.” She said she also struggles to pay for asthma medicine for two of the children.
“What I most want is to be together with him again and our children,” she said. “Our family needs us.”
She said he is a good father, her best friend and a humble, responsible man. “I love him and wherever he is, I am going to come to see him, support him… he will always be in my heart,” she said.
Marroquin-Aldana, too, addressed the court. He did not refer to the crime, instead talking about his family in Guatemala and his desire to provide for them.
“In my life, I have been a very honorable man and always respected the laws in my country and here in the United States,” he said. “I came to this country to work honorably.
“I left my country with the intention of coming here to work for my family. That’s my goal. I don’t think about myself. Only about my family,” he said.
He said he speaks to his children occasionally from the jail. “They say to me, ‘Papa, when are you going to send us money?’ I say to them, ‘God willing, on the weekend.’ And the end of the week comes and they don’t receive anything,” he said.
The prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Deborah Cashman, recommended a maximum sentence of 26 years.
She acknowledged that the state was not able to prove that Marroquin-Aldana had any criminal history, although she said he had a “relevant social history” consisting of previous, similar allegations.
The state found an arrest warrant for Marroquin-Aldana in Guatemala, but was unable to determine the disposition of the case, she said.
Justice Jeffrey Hjelm, in his remarks before delivering sentence, said he would consider several factors, including Marroquin-Aldana’s failure to accept responsibility or show remorse for his crimes.
“This shows that the chances for rehabilitation and treatment will be very difficult,” he said.
