Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced today that Superior Court Justice Susan E. McGuirl sentenced Daniel Mercedes (DOB: 5/12/59) to 35 years, with 20 to serve and the remainder suspended with probation, for child molestation and sexual assault.
In July, after a six day trial presided over by Justice McGuirl, a Providence County Superior Court jury found Mercedes, with a last known address of Tampa, FL., guilty of one count of first degree child molestation and one count of first degree sexual assault upon the same victim. Justice McGuirl sentenced Mercedes to 35 years, with 20 to serve and the remainder suspended with probation on each of the two counts, sentences to run concurrent. The defendant is also required to register as a sex offender upon his release, and the court imposed a no contact order with the victim.
“As a relative, this defendant betrayed and violated the trust of a child in the worst way possible,” said Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin. “The victim showed tremendous strength and courage in coming forward so many years after the crimes occurred, and I am glad that justice was served.”
During the trial, the State proved that the defendant engaged in sexual intercourse with a relative, under the age of 14, between October and November 1991. The defendant also engaged in sexual penetration with the same victim, when the victim was over 14 years of age, using force and coercion, between September 1992 and December 1993.
The victim first disclosed the molestation and abuse to her pastor and then to her mother. The victim came forward and reported these incidents to the Providence Police in 2009.
Detective Theodore Michaels investigated the case for the Providence Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Stacey Veroni, Assistant Attorney General and William Trezvant, Special Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Attorney General.
The defendant has been held without bail at the ACI since being found guilty in July.