By Philips Sean Curran, Staff Writer
A state appeals court last week refused to overturn the conviction of a rapist serving a 25-year-prison-term for sexually assaulting a woman in a playground in Princeton in 2005.
Humberto Gonzalez, through the Public Defender’s Office, argued among other things that his punishment was too severe. But a two-judge appeals court May 31 declined to throw out his conviction on charges that included kidnapping a then-53-year-old woman, in what became a cold case.
The victim, Mary Lessard – who subsequently agreed to have her name publicized after Gonzalez was sentenced – was out for a walk alone May 22, 2005. Gonzalez, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, was accused of pushing her to the ground and dragging her for off a bike path into a fenced-in playground, where the rape occurred for about 20 minutes. She claimed he had brandished a knife.
In their ruling, the appeals court judges rejected Gonzalez’s argument that the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office had failed to prove he had moved her a "substantial distance," one of the reasons he had argued the kidnapping and sexual assault during a kidnapping conviction should be thrown out. They noted he had dragged her for nearly 80 feet.
"Not only was this a ‘substantial distance’ by any reasonably objective standard, defendant isolated his victim by moving her to a more secluded area, thus making it easier for him to complete his assault without being detected. Therefore, we reject defendant’s contention on this point," the judges wrote.
He was on the run for several years until he was picked up in Texas and convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for an offense there. Sentenced to two years in prison in 2009, he had to give a DNA sample, which matched the DNA from the rape. He was brought back to New Jersey to face charges, rejected plea bargains and went on trial and found guilty in May 2014.
He will become parole eligible in September 2031, according to the state Department of Corrections.
Gonzalez, who goes by four other names, is 33, according to the Department of Corrections. But he has indicated he was born in 1987, according to the appeals court ruling.
For its part, the Prosecutor’s Office declined to comment on last week’s decision.
