McALLEN — A former Progreso police officer will spend the next 30 years in federal prison for sexually assaulting two people he arrested in 2019, including a minor.
U.S. District Judge Randy Crane handed down the sentence during a sentencing hearing for Matthew Lee Sepulveda, 26, at the McAllen federal courthouse Tuesday morning.
“I understand this is a significant sentence, but I intend to send a message to anyone,” in law enforcement who similarly uses their authority to commit a crime, Crane said.
“The law enforcement community is embarrassed… by what you did,” he said a moment later.
During a two-day trial in early March, Sepulveda was convicted of violating the civil rights of two young men when he sexually assaulted them while they had been in his custody in the summer of 2019.
Sepulveda was convicted of sexually assaulting them inside the Progreso city jail during arrests that were less than two days apart. The Monitor does not identify survivors of sexual assault.
Prior to handing down the sentence, however, the judge first addressed a motion for a new trial from Sepulveda’s defense attorney, Carlos A. Garcia.
Garcia was retained as Sepulveda’s attorney by his family after the trial was over. Previously, Mauro L. Reyna defended Sepulveda.
After the verdict, new information came to light about one of the witnesses who testified against Sepulveda, Garcia said.
“The jury would want to know that that person was arrested for sexual assault,” Garcia said.
“I think it’s interesting that two weeks after the verdict in this case, the charges were magically no-billed,” Garcia said, referring to the fact that a grand jury had found insufficient probable cause to charge the witness, therefore scuttling the charge.
Garcia accused the government of negligence, saying it had deliberately failed to notify the defense about the charge against the witness.
“Unfortunately, our legal history is wrought with examples of the government failing to disclose evidence favorable to the accused,” Garcia said after the sentencing hearing.
However, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarina S. DiPiazza said she notified defense counsel as soon as she became aware of the issue, but admitted, “I never asked, ‘Have you been arrested since we’ve seen you last?’”
Crane ultimately denied Garcia’s request for a new trial, saying the incident would not have been allowed into evidence during the trial.
“A mere allegation against somebody would not have been admissible,” Crane said.
“I respectfully disagree with the court’s finding,” Garcia said afterward.
“A police officer found probable cause… enough to have the person arrested and sent to the county jail for rape,” he added a moment later.
Though unknown to each other, both C.L. and A.A. told remarkably similar stories of their assaults.
Both testified to how Sepulveda took them into custody after minor traffic stops, then transported them back to a jail that otherwise stood empty due to the late hour. Both testified of how Sepulveda asked them questions regarding their sexual activity and masturbation before directing them to disrobe from the waist down.
Both also testified how Sepulveda performed oral sex on them.
It took the jury less than two hours to convict Sepulveda. The jury also unanimously found that Sepulveda had committed bodily injury, aggravated sexual abuse, attempted aggravated sexual abuse, and had kidnapped A.A.
Because C.L. was an adult at the time of the assault, Sepulveda’s conviction for violating his civil rights is classified as a misdemeanor. However, because A.A. was a minor at the time, that crime is classified as a felony.
Crane sentenced Sepulveda to 360 months — or 30 years — for his assault of the minor A.A., and 12 months for his assault of C.L. The two sentences will run concurrently.
Upon his release from federal prison, Sepulveda will then be under court supervision for five years and will have to register as a sex offender. He will be prohibited from having contact with children, or from working or volunteering with children.
The judge also ordered that Sepulveda pay $10,000 in restitution to C.L., who, in correspondence with the court, said he lost wages as a result of the sex assault and resulting investigation.
However, the 30-year sentence fell far short of the life in prison prosecutors had requested.
“Mr. Sepulveda had many enhancements, including the kidnapping of a juvenile,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarina S. DiPiazza of the reason for the government’s recommendation of life in prison.
“The fact that he did this as a police officer… he went at lengths to keep this from being found out,” DiPiazza said.
“He desecrated the badge,” she said.
Though the extenuating circumstances surrounding Sepulveda’s conviction resulted in raising the “offense level” of his crimes to the maximum under the federal sentencing guidelines, and thereby increased the sentencing recommendation to life in prison, Crane ultimately made a so-called “downward departure” by sentencing him to 30 years.
“Here, the court considers the extreme conduct, the very serious offenses, the magnitude of the impact” on the two victims, he said.
But, at the same time, the judge also took into consideration Sepulveda’s age — just 26 years old. A life sentence would be a 60- to 70-year sentence, Crane said.
Crane said he was trying to assess a sentence that was “properly punitive… not only for a law enforcement officer, but for anyone… that would rape a child.”
When given the opportunity to speak on his own behalf, Sepulveda declined with a single, unintelligible word.
Crane expressed his dismay at that, while recognizing Sepulveda may have been acting to preserve his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.
“I am disappointed that you didn’t take the opportunity to at least apologize,” Crane said.
“(I’m) disappointed you didn’t show any empathy,” he added a moment later.
