Elfido Marroquin-Aldana faces a lengthy prison sentence following his conviction in Lincoln County Superior Court Aug. 23.
A jury found him guilty of the gross sexual assault of a 5-year-old Damariscotta girl; returning their verdict around 3:30 p.m. after deliberating for about 90 minutes.
The 31-year-old Marroquin-Aldana, recently of Chicago, assaulted the girl in June 2011, when his longtime female partner was a housekeeper and nanny for the family. He is a citizen of Guatemala.
“I’m very happy for this family that this is behind them,” the prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Deborah Cashman, said. “I’m appreciative that the jury took it so seriously and obviously very happy with the verdict.”
Cashman said she does not know what she will ask for at sentencing. The maximum penalty for the Class A crime is 30 years.
Marroquin-Aldana will be held without bail at Two Bridges Regional Jail until sentencing. He has been at the jail awaiting trial since August 2011. His bail was previously set at $100,000 cash.
A forensic evaluation, a type of psychological assessment; and a pre-sentence investigation, an effort to determine the criminal history of the defendant, among other things, will precede sentencing at the state’s request.
Justice Jeffrey Hjelm said the filing of those reports would likely take one to two months. The attorneys, Cashman and defense attorney Sherry Tash, would then have time to review the reports and prepare arguments and sentencing memoranda.
The court will schedule a sentencing hearing following the filing of the reports.
