A federal judge sentenced an East Chicago man Tuesday to 37 and a half years in prison for taking an 11-year-old girl to an Illinois hotel for sex.
U.S. District Judge Rudy Lozano told Edwin Tollinchi-Rodriguez, 30, that he thought the defendant deserved life in prison, which federal sentencing guidelines called for, but said he decided to “have more mercy on you than you had for the little girl.”
The sentence was still more than the 20 years that defense attorney Michael Bosch had asked for.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Koster reminded the judge during the sentencing hearing at the U.S. District Court in Hammond about the victim’s previous testimony that Tollinchi-Rodriguez had actually molested her since she was 8 years old, threatening to kill both the girl and her family if she ever told anyone.
In November 2012, the girl finally told someone after Tollinchi-Rodriguez told her he wasn’t feeling well and needed her to go with him to the hospital to translate. He instead took her to a hotel just across state line in Illinois. Koster said the girl fortunately told someone early enough that FBI agents were able to get security video of him walking into the room and to collect bedsheets from the room that had his semen on them.
Koster said that the victim decided not to come to the sentencing hearing because her testimony at a previous hearing had upset her so much.
“It really messed her up, in her words,” Koster said.
A government filing also said that on top of sexually abusing the girl, Tollinchi-Rodriguez also physically abused her, including choking her and punching her when she didn’t cooperate.
Bosch argued for a sentence below life, noting that a psychological evaluation of Tollinchi-Rodriguez found that his intelligence was higher than just 2 percent of his peers.
He also noted that if Tollinchi-Rodriguez had not taken the girl across state lines, the crime would have been charged in a state court and he would be facing a sentence of about 10 years.
“But he did cross state lines and a with a little girl,” Lozano responded.
Tollinchi-Rodriguez, speaking through an interpreter, apologized to the court for his actions.
“Truly and honestly I regret it,” he said.
However, the judge stressed his belief that Tollinchi-Rodriguez has continued to lie and deny statements he’s made, along with claiming to not understand his plea agreement and having a stomach ache, to avoid a higher sentencing than he wanted.
“I see a lack of regret,” Lozano said.
No restitution was ordered as Koster said the government decided to not seek it after speaking with the victim and her guardian.
More Top Picks Best Mini Fridges For Man Cave