Guatemalan man sentenced to prison in Fall River court for Aggravated Rape of 36-year-old

A 51-year-old from Guatemala has been sentenced for an Aggravated Rape that dates back over two decades in the city of Attleboro. 

Eduardo Mendez was convicted late Thursday afternoon after a jury trial in front of the Honorable Rene Dupuis at the Fall River Superior Court. 

On Monday morning, he was sentenced to not less than 15 years to not more than 20 years.

According to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office, on June 9, 1994, the victim, who was 36 years old at the time, was walking home in the City of Attleboro when she was approached from behind by a group of men.  The victim was dragged a short distance into a nearby apartment hallway where she was then raped by the defendant.

  After the men then fled the area, a 14-year-old juvenile, who was walking with a friend, heard the victim’s screams and brought her to the Attleboro police station.  The victim was transported to Sturdy Memorial Hospital where an evidence collection kit was performed.  The kit went untested for a number of years. 

In 2018, during an inventory of untested rape kits by the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office, this kit was discovered and sent to the Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory for testing.  That testing revealed male DNA sperm cells from an internal swab of the victim’s evidence collection kit.  Further testing by BODE labs developed a DNA profile which was uploaded to CODIS.  This Defendant had felony convictions out of New York where he would have been required to submit his DNA.  The Defendant’s DNA was a match to the uploaded profile.  A warrant for the defendant was obtained on the charge of Aggravated Rape and he was arrested in New York in November 2022.  The Defendant gave a buccal swab in 2023 which confirmed the DNA match.  After the rape was committed, the defendant was deported from the United States in 2011 and subsequently illegally reentered the US.   

The case was prosecuted by First Assistant District Attorney Karen O’Sullivan and Assistant District Attorney Canan Yesilcimen.

“My office made it a priority to identify and test all rape kits in our County.  Fortunately, the evidence in this kit was located and sent out for testing, which identified the defendant as the suspect in this case.  I want to thank the prosecution team for their efforts and commend the victim for her perseverance over the last thirty years.  Without the rape kit being tested, this defendant would never have been charged, “District Attorney Quinn said.