FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(New Haven, CT) – John P. Doyle Jr., New Haven State’s Attorney, announced that Christian Diaz of Meriden, age 28, was sentenced today by the Honorable Gerald L. Harmon to eight years in prison for sexually assaulting a minor victim. The sentence was the result of a plea agreement with the total sentence imposed being 20 years in prison, execution suspended after eight years to serve, followed by 10 years of probation.
Diaz pleaded guilty in New Haven Superior Court on August 10, 2022 to Sexual Assault in the Third Degree, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-72a(1)(A), and Risk of Injury to a Minor – Illegal Sexual Contact, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53-21(A)(2).
An investigation by the Meriden Police Department established that in the spring of 2013, Diaz, 18 at the time, sexually assaulted the 8-year-old minor victim at her home on two or three occasions while her mother was at work.
At sentencing, the victim told the court about the struggles she endured because of the assault but that she is ready to reclaim her life saying, “I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become.” The court acknowledged the victim’s strength in coming forward and speaking up. “It is important she see herself as a survivor, because that is what she is,” Judge Harmon said.
The court noted that five of the eight years that the defendant was ordered to serve are mandatory and that the defendant would have to register with the Connecticut Sex Offender Registry for the rest of his life.
The case was investigated by the Meriden Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney Adrienne Russo.