A man who admitted to raping a jogger on Maryland's Northwest Branch Trail was sentenced Thursday to 60 years in prison.
Joaquin Orellana Torres, now 25, was arrested in May 2014 after prosecutors say he raped a woman at knife-point along the trail in Silver Spring.
Torres pleaded guilty in March to first-degree rape and first-degree sex offense.
Authorities say that on May 5, 2014, the victim was running along the Northwest Branch Trail when she passed a man fishing in a stream. When she later turned around and ran past him again, he grabbed her and pulled her off the trail just after 4 p.m., and physically and sexually assaulted her, according to a court document. The victim told police he was armed with a knife.
Neighbors saw the woman appear out of the trail shortly after the attack, distraught, crying and covered in mud. She told a man that she had just been raped, and he called 911.
Torres was arrested four days later, as investigators searched the area of the assault.
Authorities say he matched a composite image and admitted to the crime. DNA evidence further identified the suspect, a court document said.
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"Today's sentence sends a strong message," said John McCarthy, Montgomery County State's Attorney. "Rape is a violent crime and will not be tolerated in our community. Sixty years is a long time to think about the pain, suffering and mental anguish he wrought upon a victim who was jogging along a path minding her own business. This defendant robbed her of her peace of mind and this is the price he will have to pay."
The victim continues to struggle in the aftermath of the assault, according to a court document.
