A man who sexually assaulted and strangled a woman in her Thornton home has been sentenced to 98 years in prison.
Fermin Gonzalez-Flores was sentenced Friday in Adams County District Court for the Jan. 16, 2020, attack, according to the district attorney’s office.
Gonzalez-Flores was convicted by a jury in August of second-degree attempted murder, kidnapping, assault strangulation, sexual assault, violent crime using a weapon and violent crime causing serious injury, the DA’s office said in a news release.
The night of the attack, the woman was alone in her bedroom when Gonzalez-Flores, who was known to the victim, entered the room. After a brief conversation, Gonzalez-Flores strangled the victim until she passed out, according to the release. When the victim awoke she tried to fight off Gonzalez-Flores with a knife and pepper spray she kept on a nightstand, but he strangled her again into unconsciousness.
When she awoke in a bathroom, Gonzalez-Flores submerged her head in a bathtub filled with water, the release said. She was dragged into a bedroom and sexually assaulted multiple times.
Gonzalez-Flores fell asleep and the victim fled, pounding on neighbors’ doors seeking help. She made her way to a coffee shop and called 911. Thornton police responded and arrested Gonzalez-Flores.
“The brutality of this crime deserved a significant sentence and thatap what the defendant got today,” said District Attorney Brian Mason. “This defendant tortured, battered, sexually assaulted, and attempted to drown the victim in a bathtub. His actions were unspeakable, and it is my hope that the victim can take solace in this sentence as she makes the almost unimaginable step of moving forward after this horrific incident.”
