Defendant Arrested After Discovery of Videos
WASHINGTON - Rolando de la Rocha, 42, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 22 years in prison on one charge of production of child pornography and another charge of first-degree child sexual abuse, announced U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
De la Rocha pled guilty in August 2015 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable James E. Boasberg. Upon completion of his prison term, de la Rocha will be placed on 25 years of supervised release. He also will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
According to the government’s evidence, de la Rocha was the former boyfriend of the girl’s mother, and lived with the family in Northwest Washington until January 2014. In May of 2015, the girl’s mother called the Metropolitan Police Department to report that she had discovered a recording in which de la Rocha is seen sexually assaulting her child. A subsequent examination of de la Rocha’s cellphone led to the discovery of videos depicting two such incidents.
A warrant was issued for the defendant’s arrest, and de la Rocha was arrested on May 29, 2015. He admitted to police that he produced the recordings and said that he had set up an iPad to film the sexual acts in the girl’s room without her knowledge. The girl told police about several incidents that took place when she was 12 or 13, and that ended in 2013. She expressed a fear of talking to police but ultimately agreed to an interview about the defendant’s conduct.
De la Rocha has been in custody since his arrest.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Phillips and Chief Lanier commended the work of the officers and detectives who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department, including those from the Third District and the Youth Investigations Division. They also expressed appreciation for the work of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Joyce Arthur and Criminal Investigator John Marsh. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea L. Hertzfeld, who prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
