HOUSTON – Two Houston men were sentenced in the rape and robbery of a woman in Sharpstown in 2017, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office announced Saturday.
On Wednesday, a Harris County jury sentenced Martin Cruz, 42, to 30 years in prison following a week-long trial. Cruz was convicted of aggravated kidnapping for abducting the woman at gunpoint outside an apartment complex in southwest Houston.
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During the trial, jurors heard that Cruz and accomplice Ricardo Matilde-Silvas, 34, approached the victim on March 16, 2017 and forced her into her vehicle at gunpoint. Inside the car, she was sexually assaulted while forced to wear a jacket over her head, according to the district attorney’s office.The pair then took the woman to an ATM where they made her withdraw $300 in cash. The men then brought the woman back to Cruz’s apartment where she was again sexually assaulted. After the attack, she convinced the men to release her, and she immediately contacted Houston Police.
Earlier this year, Matilde-Silvas pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault for his part in the incident in exchange for a 30-year prison sentence, according to the district attorney’s office.
“No one should have to go through a random act of violence like this, and my heart goes out to the victim,” Harris County District Attorney Ogg said in a statement. “She was terrorized and traumatized and still had the presence of mind to get away and seek justice.”
Assistant District Attorney Kim Nwabeke, who handled the case with prosecutor ADA Chris Handley, told jurors during the trial that the victim lived through her own horror story and came away stronger.
“She lived every young woman’s worst nightmare, being taken in the night by the monster next door,” Nwabeke said in a statement. “Now, she’s turned the tragedy into strength and is working to empower other survivors to speak out.”
The case was investigated by the Houston Police Department and prosecuted by the Sex Crimes Division of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
“We thank the jurors for their service and the prosecutors and police in this case for their work in seeing that justice was delivered for the victim and our entire community,” Ogg said. “We are grateful to them.”