March 07, 2016
A man who is known dubiously as the "Rittenhouse Rapist" was sentenced to decades in prison Monday for brutally assaulting a woman near the Center City park he gets his unfortunate nickname from.
Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams said Milton Mateo Garcia, 28, will spend 22-44 years in state prison after pleading no contest to charges of rape, kidnapping, burglary and related counts in November of last year.
The sentencing comes nearly two years after authorities say Garcia followed a 26-year-old woman to her apartment on Spruce Street near Rittenhouse Square, grabbing her and forcing her into her residence.
It was there prosecutors say Garcia threw the woman -- who was a doctor, according to local media reports from the time -- to the floor and sexually assaulted her.
Garcia left but returned shortly after, again sexually assaulting her and ignoring the victim's pleas to take her belongings and leave her alone, according to authorities.
After the assault, police tried to get the public's help in identifying and finding Garcia by releasing surveillance video and a sketch of his face.
Police were able to track Garcia to his South Philly home days later because he had stolen the victim's cell phone.
His case drew some national attention during the trial because of his status as an illegal immigrant from Honduras.
Some conservative commentators noted that if Garcia was acquitted, a directive from then-Mayor Nutter ordering local law enforcement not to cooperate with federal immigration officials would mean he would go free.
Mayor Nutter reversed that directive making Philly a "sanctuary city" shortly before his tenure ended last year, but new Mayor Jim Kenney quickly reinstated it.
The District Attorney's Office said during testimony, the victim recalled having frequent nightmares and flashbacks to the assault that occurred on June 21, 2014.
She has, however, moved back to the city, returning to work and rebuilding her life, prosecutors say.
