Convictions stand against man who raped elderly Sterling Park woman in 2008

Wednesday, Dec. 1
by Jana Wagoner

A 26-year-old illegal immigrant from Honduras will spend the rest of his life in prison after the Virginia Court of Appeals affirmed Nov. 16 the convictions against him for breaking into a Sterling Park home in 2008 and raping its elderly resident.

Arnold J. Mancia-Morales was convicted of rape, burglary while armed, abduction, and assault and battery in the case after a three-day trial in March 2009. In September 2009, a judge sentenced him to life in prison plus an additional 53 years.

During the trial, the 76-year-old victim testified about how her attacker had broken into her Ironwood Road home just after midnight Aug. 29, 2008, punched her, cut her fingers and sexually assaulted her for “what seemed like forever.â€