Rochester Child Sex Assault Plea Deal Calls For Prison Sentence

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Court filings have revealed the details of a recent plea agreement in a Rochester child sexual assault case.

28-year-old Zerefino Cano Rafael was charged in January 2023 as a result of an investigation that was launched in July 2022 after Rochester police were called to St. Marys Hospital. Court documents say the responding officers met with members of the pediatric staff and the mother of an 11-year-old girl who indicated her daughter had been sexually assaulted by Rafael.

According to the criminal complaint, the child told investigators that Rafael had repeatedly sexually abused her beginning in 2018 and continuing for at least two years on a nearly daily basis. The court document says the victim stated that the worst assault occurred in 2020 when she alleged that Rafael raped her.

Rafael was charged with first and second-degree criminal sexual conduct. Under the terms of his plea agreement, he recently entered an Alford plea to the second-degree charge in exchange for the dismissal of the first-degree criminal sexual conduct charge. The Alford plea means he does not admit guilt, but acknowledges there is sufficient evidence for a conviction.

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Rafael is scheduled to be sentenced next week. The plea agreement calls for a 7 1/2 year prison sentence.

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