LAWRENCE — A Lawrence man convicted of rape four years ago was found guilty again of rape, extortion and photographing an unsuspecting nude person.
Angel Mateo, 27, previously of 76 Phillips St., was already serving 7 to 9 years in state prison on the previous rape conviction.
On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Sal Tabit sentenced Mateo to another 12 to 14 years in state prison after a jury found him guilty of five rape and related charges after a trial in Lawrence Superior Court, according to court records.
The court docket indicated jurors deliberated for 90 minutes before handing down guilty verdicts against Mateo for two counts of rape, two counts of extortion and photographing a nude person without consent, according to court records.
Tabit also sentenced Mateo to 2 1/2 years in the county jail. That sentence is to be served concurrently with the state prison sentence, court records indicated.
Mateo was also ordered to three years on probation following his prison release, and he must register as a sex offender with the state, undergo special programs for sex offenders and have no contact with any witnesses, according to court documents.
The case centered around Mateo threatening an ex-girlfriend, saying if she did not perform a sex act that he would post a sex video of her online and “ruin her image,” according to police.
In February 2020, Mateo was convicted by a Salem Superior Court jury of on statutory rape, indecent assault and battery on a child and assault and battery charges. The crimes involved four female victims, including a 13-year-old girl. Two of them testified during that trial.
In October, 2023, Mateo was found not guilty in a third case involving allegations of breaking and entering and strangulation.
During the break-ins, Mateo was accused of removing a small child from her bed and attempting to take her out of the house and in the other break, the victim woke up and found a man standing over her.
The jury found Mateo not guilty of two counts of breaking and entering into a building in the nighttime to commit a felony, attempting to commit a crime, two counts of assault and battery and strangulation or suffocation.
Mateo’s defense attorney Jeffrey Sweeney could not be reached for comment for this article.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jessica Strasnick.
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