BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Victor Peña, the man accused of kidnapping and raping a Boston woman multiple times in his Charlestown apartment after leaving a bar in 2019, was found guilty on all charges in Suffolk County Superior Court Tuesday.
Peña was convicted on one count of kidnapping and 10 counts of aggravated rape for holding the 23-year-old woman in his Walford Way apartment against her will and sexually assaulting her for three days in January 2019.
The jury spent about two hours in deliberation before handing in their verdict Tuesday afternoon.
The verdict came after several days of testimony and evidence. Peña's accuser took the stand Wednesday, July 20, telling jurors that Peña threatened her life while holding her in his apartment.
"I didn't want to die," the woman told the court. "He wouldn't let me leave, and then, after I was like, 'No, I have to leave,' he threatened to kill me. I think, he just said, like, 'You can't leave. Don't get up or I'll kill you.'"
"She was shaking, crying, had her arms clutching her face. She was disheveled and had a horrified look on her face," said retired Boston police detective Michael Talbot, who was first to enter the apartment and find the woman.
On Thursday, a digital forensic specialist said 322 photos and six explicit videos of the victim were found on Peña's phone.
Peña, who was not present for most of the trial, appeared in court Monday when he took the stand in his own defense. Speaking through an interpreter, Peña claimed that his three days spent with the woman were consensual.
Peña also told the court that he was a victim of police abuse when officers entered the apartment.
The prosecution did not cross-examine Peña.
"I want to thank the prosecutors on this case, Ian Polumbaum and Jessica Frattaroli, and the victim witness advocate, Anne Kelley-McCarthy, for their hard and successful work," said Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden following the verdict. "But it was the survivor in this case who truly rose to the challenge. Most of us go through life never having to experience an ordeal of terror like this young woman experienced at the hands of Victor Pena. When the path to justice required her to recount those awful moments, she proved equal to the task. She was brave. She was articulate. She was in command of the facts. She gave the jury the evidence they needed to hold this man accountable for his horrible crimes. But we must never assume that this guilty verdict eases, much less erases, the trauma experienced by this survivor. I’ve worked with many survivors in my career as a prosecutor and I’ve learned that emotional and physical scars may heal, but they never disappear. We have been here for her and her family since the beginning, and we will continue to be here for them."
Sentencing for Peña is scheduled for Monday, August 1. He faces up to 10 years for the charge of kidnapping and up to a life sentence for each count of aggravated rape.
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