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NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) – A Holyoke man was sentenced after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a woman in Northampton last year.
The Northwestern District Attorney’s Office states that the crimes took place in February 2024 when 38-year-old Ezequiel Torres and the survivor were acquaintances living in different homeless shelters in Northampton.
In court, Torres confessed to offering the victim a ride to her shelter but instead stopped at two parking lots in Northampton, where he assaulted her. He later attempted to intimidate her from reporting the assaults. The woman reported the assaults to a shelter manager, who then contacted the police.
Torres was sentenced to 6 1/2 to 8 1/2 years after pleading guilty to felony counts of indecent assault and battery, kidnapping, and intimidation of a witness in Hampshire Superior Court on Wednesday. As part of the plea agreement, charges of aggravated rape and two additional counts of indecent assault and battery were dropped.
The sentence includes mandatory registration with the Sex Offender Registry Board, reflecting the severity of the crimes.
“The survivor was exceptionally brave for coming forward and immediately reporting these crimes to the police, which led to crucial evidence gathering that helped secure convictions,” said Northwestern Assistant District Attorney Andrew Covington.
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All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WWLP. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WWLP staff before being published.
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Emma McCorkindale
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