A judge sentenced a Caernarvon Township man to 12 to 30 years in state prison yesterday after a jury found him guilty earlier this year of raping a teenage girl decades ago.

Judge Jeffery Conrad handed down the sentence to Roberto Rosario, of the 500 block of East Maple Street, on Aug. 31. A jury had found Rosario guilty of rape by forcible compulsion, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse by forcible compulsion and sexual assault—all felony offenses—following a five-day trial in April.

Rosario, 46, raped and brutally assaulted the then-16-year-old victim in December 1997.

In an impact statement she read before the sentencing, the now-adult victim said Rosario made a “devastating” and “awful” choice that has carried with her to the present day.

“I thought he was going to kill me back then,” the victim said. “Sometimes I still think he will.”

Throughout her statement the victim urged Conrad to “save the world” from Rosario, warning that he was incapable or remorse or reform. Though “nothing can erase the magnitude of that one night,” the victim said “a just sentence” and the truth coming to light would have Rosario pay his “overdue” debt to society.

While Rosario has been “able to live a life free from punishment” until now, Conrad said it’s clear from the victim’s statements that his actions have had an “ongoing effect.”

“This was a long time coming,” Conrad said after issuing the sentence. 

As part of his sentence Rosario must pay more than $42,000 in restitution for the years of trauma counseling the victim has undergone as a result of his actions.

Prior to handing down the sentence Conrad said the victim’s impact statement and another impact statement written by her now-husband were “some of the most eloquently written” that he’s ever read. Conrad commended the victim for her “outstanding advocacy” on her own behalf.

Speaking to the court prior to being sentenced, Rosario acknowledged that he’s “caused a lot of pain and suffering across the years” and has tried to better himself recently through therapy, medication and religion. 

“I wish I could take it all back now, but I can’t,” Rosario told the court. “I can only change who I am.”

Another person drove Rosario and the victim from a residence in the 300 block of New Holland Avenue in Lancaster city to a hotel room at an unknown location, she testified during the trial. During the ride the victim was provided with alcohol.

Once alone, Rosario threatened to shoot the victim, claiming he had a gun, then began to physically attack her by striking her in the face, choking her, pulling her hair and holding her down on the bed, she testified. The victim fought back and tried to escape, she said, but was stopped by Rosario from getting to the door.

The assault only ended when another individual entered the hotel room.

Days later, the victim successfully picked Rosario out of a police lineup. 

Though former Lancaster City Bureau of Police officer Andrew Selby took the initial report and participated in the original investigation, charges were never filed as Selby raped and sexually assaulted the same victim himself about a week or two later. Selby was later found guilty and sentenced to 22 and a half to 57 years in prison for numerous offenses related to the rape of this victim and two others. 

Decades went by before the now 44-year-old victim reached out to police again to request a copy of her original police report. Lancaster city police Det. Sgt. Jessica Higgins, who took the victim’s report, ultimately filed the charges against both Rosario and Selby.

Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Lapp prosecuted the case.