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WILKES-BARRE — A Hazleton man convicted by a Luzerne County jury of repeatedly raping and sexually assaulting a girl was sentenced to state prison Friday.
Luis Alejandro Genao, 37, formerly of Muir Avenue, refused to speak when given the opportunity to apologize to the victim at his sentencing hearing before Judge Michael T. Vough.
A jury on March 20 convicted Genao on charges of rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, endangering the welfare of a child and two counts each of indecent assault and corruption of minors after deliberating for nearly 90 minutes.
Hazleton police Detective David Rodick arrested Genao in September 2017 after investigating allegations by the girl, who claimed Genao assaulted her.
She said the assaults began when she was 9 years old and ended just before her 12th birthday. When Genao stopped assaulting her, she claimed he continued to slap her buttocks and grope her chest.
“He does not deserve to walk among us,” the girl’s mother told Vough. “He needs to be put in a cage and rot like the animal he is.”
“Today he is exposed,” Rodick said in court. “Out of the many sex abuse investigations I’ve been a part of, there has never been a victim so impacted by child abuse. She stands here before the court as a survivor.”
Genao’s attorney, Charles Ross, asked for a 10- to 20-year prison sentence.
However, Vough agreed to a request by Assistant District Attorney Brittany Quinn, sentencing Genao to 20 to 40 years in state prison.
Assistant District Attorney Cara Lunell Solimine prosecuted Genao at trial.
Genao is also subject to lifetime registration under the state’s Megan’s Law.