NEW CITY – A 26-year-old Spring Valley man was convicted following a two-week jury trial of three violent felonies – two counts of rape and one count of burglary.
Rigoberto Lopez Castro was charged with committing the crimes on two consecutive nights in 2022 in Spring Valley.
Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Walsh II said on September 12, 2022, he forcibly raped a woman previously known to him. He held a belt to her neck and hit her several times.
On the following night he broke into the victim’s home and locked bedroom, and against forcibly raped her.
He put his hands around her neck and hit her repeatedly.
The DA said as a result of the attacks, the woman suffered significant pain and sustained several bruises on her body and a ligature mark on her neck.
“This conviction reaffirms my commitment to holding perpetrators of sexual violence accountable for their actions,” Walsh said.
Lopez Castro faces up to 25 years in state prison on each count with sentenced in June.
