A 33-year-old man was sentenced to 98 years in prison on Friday for trying to drown his girlfriend’s cousin in a bathtub and strangling and sexually assaulting her in 2020, according to the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Fermin Gonzalez-Flores was found guilty last August of multiple crimes including second-degree attempted murder, kidnapping, three counts of sexual assault and four counts of assault-strangulation.
“The brutality of this crime deserved a significant sentence and that’s what the defendant got today,” said District Attorney Brian Mason in a news release. “This defendant tortured, battered, sexually assaulted, and attempted to down the victim in a bathtub. His actions were unspeakable, and it’s my hope that the victim can take solace in this sentence as she makes the almost unimaginable step of moving forward after this horrific incident.”
The charges stem from a Jan. 16, 2020, incident where the victim returned home from work between 11 and 11:30 p.m. She rested on her bed when her cousin’s boyfriend came up to her and after a brief conversation strangled her until she lost consciousness, according to a news release.
The victim woke up as Gonzalez-Flores was looking down upon her and tried grabbing a knife and pepper spray to stop any further assault, authorities said. Gonzalez-Flores then began to strangle her again.
Gonzalez-Flores then dragged the victim by her hair to the laundry room and then to the bathroom where he strangled her for a third time until she lost consciousness. When she woke up, Gonzalez-Flores was filling up a bathtub with water and then grabbed her head and tried drowning her, according to the release.
The victim attempted to “play dead” multiple times but Gonzalez-Flores left her head underwater, the release said. He eventually pulled her head out of the water and then sexually assaulted her multiple times before falling asleep, according to the release.
The victim then escaped and knocked on a neighbor’s door asking for help.
Gonzalez-Flores was taken into custody by Thornton police officers.
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