PFLUGERVILLE, Texas - A man has been found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman in Pflugerville. The victim told the jury she jumped off the second-story balcony of her apartment to escape Asley Quesada-Diaz after he sexually assaulted her in her own home.
According to the Travis County District Attorney's Office, the sexual assault happened in the early morning of January 6, in an apartment complex located in Pflugerville. 36-year-old Quesada-Diaz was a family friend of the victim and the victim's family had been helping Quesada-Diaz after his recent move to the Austin area from Cuba.
The victim jumped off the second-story balcony of her apartment to escape Quesada-Diaz after he sexually assaulted her in her own home, according to the attorney's office. The victim suffered injuries to her back, legs, and arms after she fell into a rosebush. She then ran to an unknown neighbor that was in his vehicle and hid in the back seat of his car, crouched down between the passenger seat and the back seat.
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The male neighbor drove her to safety and called 911.
DNA later linked Quesada-Diaz to swabs taken from the victim shortly after the sexual assault.
The trial lasted four days and both the victim and the defendant testified, according to the Travis County District Attorney's Office. The jury deliberated for four hours before returning a guilty verdict in the case.
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Travis County Assistant District Attorney Lindsay Richards, assigned to the SVU Sex Crimes Unit, commented after the verdict, "Unfortunately, this case represents the harsh reality that many sexual assaults are perpetrated by people known to the victim. I am grateful that our community is reaching a place where it has a better understanding of the dynamics involved in sexual assault cases and the realities that many sexual assault victims face. I am thankful to the jurors for their careful deliberation and attention to this case."