CASE UPDATE:  June 19, 2017 – Commonwealth v. Luis A. Cruz:  This morning, Dauphin County President Judge Richard A. Lewis sentenced Luis A. Cruz to 35 years to 70 years in state prison.  Cruz was convicted on June 7, 2017, by a Dauphin County jury of Rape of a Child and other related sexual offenses.  Cruz sexually assaulted the child over a one-year period when she was ages 8 and 9.  Cruz was the boyfriend of the victim’s mother between 2007 and 2008.  A few months into the relationship Cruz moved into the home where the victim lived with her mother and two younger sisters.  Prior to sentencing Cruz, Judge Lewis remarked that Cruz's crime involved more than molesting a child but also represented a "betrayal of trust" by Cruz.    

The sexual abuse came to light when the victim disclosed the abuse to authorities in March of 2014 after getting into a fight with her mother.  The victim explained to the jury during her testimony that she had a lot of hate for her mother due to her bringing Cruz into the family home.  Throughout her testimony, the victim provided a very graphic account of the sex acts committed against her for about one year.  She explained that the abuse started with touching and escalated from there. 

The Commonwealth was permitted to put on evidence of Cruz’s prior bad acts to show his common scheme and intent.  A prior victim testified that she too suffered sexual abuse at the hands of Cruz when she was ages 10 and 11.  She explained that Cruz was her mother’s boyfriend back in 1995 when she was sexually assaulted in their home.  In 1995 Cruz was charged with Rape of a Child and other related sexual offenses.  That same year, Cruz entered into a negotiated guilty plea to these charges and was sentenced to 3 to 10 years.

After deliberating for approximately three hours the jury returned to the courtroom and returned a verdict of guilty on all of the charges.  In addition to Rape of a Child, Cruz was convicted of Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse with a Child, Aggravated Indecent Assault, Indecent Assault, Unlawful Contact with a Minor, and Corruption of a Minor. 

This case was prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer W. Gettle and Deputy District Attorney Chelsea A. Fry.  Detective Shawn M. Donofrio of the Harrisburg Police Department investigated this case.