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The man pleaded guilty to rape and child pornography charges on Monday, the DA said.
A Fall River man pleaded guilty to rape and child pornography charges on Monday after he raped a woman when she refused to take nude photos of her young daughter, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Elias Rodrigues Dos Santos Mendes, 55, was sentenced in Fall River Superior Court to eight to ten years in state prison. Because the defendant is undocumented, he will be deported back to Brazil after his sentence, the office of Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said in a press release.
Dos Santos Mendes was charged with two counts of rape, one count of assault to rape, indecent assault and battery on a person over 14, and possession of child pornography, the DA said.
Prosecutors said that, in March 2024, Dos Santos Mendes was introduced to an adult woman — who knew of Dos Santos prior to their meeting — and her four children. The family had recently arrived to the United States with intentions of living in Fall River, the DA said.
Dos Santos Mendes offered to “assist her and her children in finding housing,” prosecutors said.
While the victim and Dos Santos Mendes were speaking in his car, he asked the victim to take naked photos of her 12-year-old daughter so he could sell them online, the DA said.
Dos Santos Mendes then showed the victim “numerous videos and photos” of naked children on his phone, the DA said.
When the victim refused to comply, Dos Santos Mendes became angry and then “sexually assaulted and raped the victim inside his vehicle,” Quinn’s office said.
The victim reported Dos Santos Mendes to the police and opted to receive “medical treatment that yielded a DNA sample.” The DNA sample linked to Dos Santos Mendes, prosecutors said.
During the investigation, police confiscated Dos Santos Mendes’ phones, one being brand new, with Dos Santos Mendes claiming he “had broken one of his phones the week prior,” the DA said.
While searching the devices, police found a video that “contained child pornography,” prosecutors claimed.
“This behavior clearly demonstrates a disturbed and deranged mind,” Quinn said in the press release.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Canan Yesilcimen and Kalene Kobza, the DA said.
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