Numerous Connecticut's Torrington High School Football Players Accused Of Sexual Assault, Robbery~ Edgar Gonzalez, Joan Toribio, Jeffrey Holder, William Castillo, Joan Toribio, Alec Berkemeire

By DAVE COLLINS 03/20/13 08:48 PM ET EDT

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Two Connecticut high school football players have been charged in sexual assault cases that, like a recent high-profile Ohio rape case, have led to online taunts directed at an accuser.

The two 18-year-old Torrington High School players, Edgar Gonzalez and Joan Toribio, were charged with felony second-degree sexual assault and other crimes last month in cases involving different 13-year-old girls. Toribio also was charged two weeks ago in another second-degree sexual assault case.

A state judge sealed details of the allegations from public view. Both teens have pleaded not guilty to all charges. The arrests were first reported by The Register Citizen newspaper.

On Wednesday evening, Torrington police Lt. Michael Emanuel said a third student, a 17-year-old boy, was charged this month with second-degree sexual assault on one of the two 13-year-olds linked to the football players' cases.

Emanuel said the assault occurred last fall. He had no information about the 17-year-old's arraignment or any bail.

At least one more arrest involving the same accusers is likely in the case, he said.

The accusers and suspects knew one another, according to Emanuel, who described what happened as "voluntary encounters" at private residences. But he said sexual encounters between a 13-year-old and anyone more than three years older are illegal under state law.

At least one of the accusers in Torrington, nearly 30 miles west of the capital, Hartford, has been taunted on social media by dozens of upset classmates, the newspaper reported. Students have called the girl a "whore" and bashed her for "snitching" and "ruining" the players' lives.

State prosecutor Terri Sonnemann declined to comment on the sexual assault cases and on whether authorities are investigating the online taunts.

Gonzalez's lawyer, J. Patten Brown III, said he hasn't seen the state's evidence yet, but has been told the charges allege consensual, but statutorily illegal, sex. He said Gonzalez is not making any admissions about having relations with the girl and intends to fight the charges.

"Oftentimes people are arrested, and when all the facts come out, they're different than what people assumed," Brown said.

A message was left Wednesday for Toribio's attorney, Charles Brower.

In the Ohio case, Steubenville High School football players Trent Mays and Ma'Lik Richmond were sentenced Sunday to at least a year in juvenile jail after being found guilty of using their hands to rape a drunken 16-year-old girl. The case bitterly divided the city and led to accusations of a cover-up to protect the athletes.

On Tuesday, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said the teen girl is being victimized by threats on Twitter and he demanded an end to such postings.

In Torrington, Gonzalez and Toribio have been suspended from school, said Ken Traub, chairman of the local Board of Education.

At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, school Superintendent Cheryl Kloczko read a brief statement pledging to abide by laws protecting student confidentiality. She declined to comment further.

Torrington police said little about the accusations in news releases, except that Gonzalez and Toribio were arrested in connection with alleged sexual encounters with 13-year-old girls.

Toribio has posted $100,000 bail for the two sexual assault cases.

Gonzalez is being detained on $65,000 bail at the New Haven Correctional Center. He also has pleaded not guilty in a robbery case from last year that remains pending.

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Torrington Rape Case Similar to Steubenville? High School Football Players Joan Toribio and Edgar Gonzalez Accused of Sexual Assault, Victims Harrassed by Cyber Bullies

By Raimundo Ortiz, EnStarz | Mar 21, 2013 08:49 PM EDT

In Torrington, Connecticut, two 18-year-old members of the Torrington Raiders, Edgar Gonzalez and Joan Toribio, are accused of second-degree sexual assault against two 13-year-old girls, in a story that is eerily echoing the Steubenville, Ohio incident in which two football players were convicted of sexually assaulting an intoxicated 16-year-old girl.

According to reports, both Gonzalez and Toribio were arrested last month for separate incidents that occurred in February. The Torrington police said the investigation is ongoing and Lieutenant Mike Emmanuel told reporters Wednesday: "It's very involved. It's very difficult to follow, even for us."

The online group Anonymous, who brought the Steubenville rape case to light, has made it clear they are getting involved in the Torrington story, tweeting, "Torrington better take note of #Steubenville because they're about to go on blast. #endrapeculture."
The victims of the assaults are being mocked on social media and called "whores" and "snitches," and being blamed for "ruining the lives" of their attackers.
Gonzalez was charged in March of 2012 with felony robbery, while four members of the team had to be suspended for participating in hazing. Torrington athletic director Mike McKenna downplayed the incidents, telling the Register Citizen: "If you think there's some wild band of athletes that are wandering around then I think you're mistaken. If you look at crime statistics these things happen everywhere and we're not any different than any other community."

Then-Raiders coach Dan Dunaj allowed Gonzalez to play in the fall following the robbery charges and told the Register Citizen, "I reeled the kid in after that, and he walked the line. As a coach I was doing something right."
He also said that if he were coaching the Raiders when the sexual assault charges came up he would not allow Gonzalez to continue playing.

The Register Citizen released an editorial condemning Torrington's response to these serious allegations. The following is an excerpt from the article:

"It's clear that Torrington students need an urgent education about blaming the victim, bullying and harassment, what "consent" means, why statutory rape is rape, period, and where football should stand in relation to their education and the rest of life. Let's hope that starts today."

Gonzalez and Toribio both pleaded not guilty.

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Published: Thursday, March 28, 2013

By Jason Siedzik
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@RCJsiedzik on Twitter


Register Citizen File Photo -- Torrington High School

TORRINGTON >> A 17-year-old male was arrested Wednesday on sexual assault charges, which, according to Board of Education Chairman Kenneth Traub, are related to the arrests of three Torrington High School students for statutory rape against two 13-year-old victims.

According to Torrington Police, further details on the arrest are unavailable as the warrant has been sealed. The juvenile was charged with second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor, and that the arrest stems from an incident in January.

NBC Connecticut reports that the latest juvenile arrested was also a football player.

The arrest marks the fourth in Torrington involving second-degree sexual assault in two months, following the arrests of three high school football players in February.

Edgar Gonzalez and Joan Toribio, both 18, were arrested on Feb. 20 and 22, respectively, and charged with second-degree sexual assault, risk of injury to a minor and risk of injury to a minor with sexual contact.

Another 17-year-old male was arrested March 4 on similar charges.

The juvenile arrested Wednesday was transferred to the Hartford Juvenile Detention Center. Torrington Police Department public information officer L. Michael Emanuel said the investigation into the latest arrest is ongoing but stated there would be no further comment on the incident in a press release.

Emanuel also stated that the police department is continuing to work with Torrington Schools Superintendent Cheryl Kloczko. Kloczko declined multiple opporunities to comment on the investigation Wednesday.

Connecticut statutes define second-degree sexual assault as a sexual assault involving statutory rape, either due to an adult having otherwise consensual sex with a minor, a victim who is physically or mentally incapacitated, or sex involving an authority figure, such as a teacher, coach or guardian. In the cases of Gonzalez and Toribio, Emanuel stated that the victim could not “statutorily” consent.

Torrington High School students, friends and teammates took to social media in the wake of the arrests of Gonzalez and Toribio, attacking the victims in the cases via Twitter. Many of the accounts used to attack the victims have since been locked down, but the Register Citizen published these tweets in a March 20 report.

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Torrington rape suspect Edgar Gonzalez appears in court, case continued to Friday
Published: Wednesday, April 03, 2013
By Jessica Glenza
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TORRINGTON >> Edgar Gonzalez, one of four Torrington teens accused of statutory rape, appeared in Litchfield Judicial District court Tuesday morning and had his case continued to Friday.

Gonzalez is accused of raping a 13-year-old girl in February. He is also facing felony charges, including assault, related to a March 2012 alleged robbery. There, Gonzalez is accused of having played a part in jumping three 14-year-old boys. Gonzalez has pleaded not guilty to all eight charges in both cases.

He is being held on $65,100 bond in the New Haven Correctional Center.

Confusion over a filing by a Bridgeport attorney to represent Gonzalez as co-counsel with Bloomfield-based J. Patten Brown III will be settled during Friday’s appearence. Brown objected to an “in addition to” filing made by the Bridgeport attorney, whose name was not revealed in open court, because Brown said he has has no knowledge of it.

The 18-year-old former Torrington High School football player, who was named the team’s 2012 MVP, was dressed in a beige prison uniform with his hands cuffed in front of him, was only briefly in court Tuesday.

Several supporters of both Gonzalez and the victim’s family were in attendance during the court proceedings. Before he was led out of the courtroom by judicial marshals, Gonzalez glanced at his mother. Some of Gonzalez’s supporters appeared to be wiping away tears as they left the room.

Details of the case remain sealed. Gonzalez’s football teammate, Joan Toribio, also 18, is set to appear in Litchfield court on April 23. Two 17-year-olds have also been charged with second-degree sexual assault and their cases are being heard in juvenile court. Their names haven’t been released because of their age.

Brown said that he had not yet received discovery from the state related to sexual assault charges pending against Gonzalez, but that he believed robbery charges against Gonzalez were “bogus.”

“I don’t think there was an intent to rob anybody. I just think there were two groups of high school kids coming back from a volley ball game and my client and his buddies were on the football team and the other kids were different groups of kids who weren’t on the football team and they basically decided to harass them and it’s been turned into a robbery-one case. There’s no weapon involved, no real evidence of weapon for that matter, nothing was taken, so I don’t think it’s a real robbery case,” said Brown.
Witness statements available in court documents allege that one of the accused may have been carrying a screwdriver.

If found guilty of charges related to an alleged sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl, Gonzalez faces a minimum of five years and nine months in prison to more than 20 years in prison, depending on the circumstances of the sexual assault. The circumstances are not publicly known because the case remains sealed. Gonzalez is charged with three felonies related to the alleged sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl; sexual assault in the second degree, risk of injury to a minor and risk of injury to a minor including sexual contact.

Independent of the sexual assault allegations, Gonzalez could face a minimum of six years in prison to more than 20 years in prison if he is found guilty of two felonies and three misdemeanors, based on allegations that he played a part in jumping the three 14-year-old boys.

Jeffrey Holder, 19, another Torrington High School football player and co-conspirator charged with Gonzalez in the alleged robbery, are accused of leaving the Torrington High School’s annual dodge ball tournament before driving down Workman Avenue and assaulting three 14-year-old’s in search of cash. Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Holder is scheduled to appear in Litchfield Superior Court on April 30 for his part in the alleged robbery. Holder is facing the same charges as Gonzalez, two felonies, robbery and risk of injury to a minor, and three misdemeanors, including assault and two conspiracy to commit larceny charges.

Although cases against Gonzalez and Toribio, both of 330 Highland Ave., remain sealed, both are alleged to have assaulted two 13-year-old girls on the same evening, Feb. 10, 2013.

Subsequent to the arrests of Gonzalez and Toribio the character of victims in both cases were questioned and called names such as “snitch” and “whore” on Twitter.

Torrington Police have said they are not investigating the cyber bullying of victims as a criminal matter. Whether the online taunting would be considered “bullying” by the strict definition of the Torrington Board of Education policy remains unclear.

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06/11/13

Torrington High School's 2012 most valuable football player pleaded guilty to accusations of raping a 13-year-old girl, Tuesday morning, in a case that captured national attention after two victims in the case were subject to vicious online bullying.

Edgar Gonzalez, 18, pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault and second-degree robbery in Litchfield Superior Court, and will serve between three and seven years in prison as part of a plea deal.

Gonzalez was arrested in February and accused of raping a 13-year-old girl. Peers followed the arrests of Gonzalez, and fellow teammate, neighbor and friend Joan Toribio, also 18, with a deluge of online name-calling, referring to the victims in the case as "hoe" and "whore."

One of the victims' parents, in the only public statement since the accusations, said about the outcome that, "I guess the best way to put it is that we got the best result for justice that we could have hoped for, without going to a trial."

Toribio is also charged with the rape of a 13-year-old girl in an incident that occurred on the same night, Feb. 10, in Toribio's family's Highland Avenue apartment, but with a different victim. Toribio has entered a not guilty plea.

The case drew local and national headlines after the victims were viciously bullied on Twitter by supporters of Gonzalez and Toribio. The Register Citizen published tweets relating to the case in a March 20 story.

Arrest affidavits describing circumstances of charges against the two have since been unsealed. In Gonzalez's arrest affidavit he is accused of raping the 13-year-old girl despite her saying "no," multiple times.

Presenting facts the state sought to prove in the event of a trial, prosecuting state's attorney Terri Sonnemann noted the same accusation to Judge John Danaher. She said Gonzalez was told by the victim, "She repeatedly said she didn't want it to occur, but of course it did," about second-degree sexual assault charges.

"The victim did sustain some injuries as a result of the defendant," said Sonnemann, "some internal injuries." For this reason, Sonnemann said, the victim went to the hospital and was subject to a forensic rape evaluation, commonly called a "rape kit."

Sonnemann also alluded to marijuana and alcohol use during the course of the night. The victim, "indicated that they had consumed some substances," Sonnemann said. According to Gonzalez's arrest affidavit, Gonzalez at one point pulled the victim's head back and poured a shot of alcohol down her throat. Gonzalez, Toribio and the victim also smoked marijuana, according to the affidavit, the victim said it was her first time doing so.

When Danaher heard the guilty plea, he asked Sonnemann whether the victims' families wanted to be heard on the matter. Sonnemann said she'd spoken with them.

"It's hard to say they're in agreement with it, but it's something with which they can live," said Sonnemann. Family members of victims did not speak during the pleading, although the victim's mother wept.

None of Gonzalez's family members were present at his pleading, although several of the victim's family members were present.

Two 17-year-old football players, whose names haven't been released because of their age, have also been arrested and charged with second-degree sexual assault for alleged incidents involving one of the same 13-year-old victims.

Gonzalez was previously arrested on robbery and assault charges for a March 2012 alleged incident where he was accused, with other Torrington football players and students, of jumping, robbing and assaulting three juveniles in an out-of-school incident.

While those charges were pending, Gonzalez played in the 2012 football season and was subsequently honored as Torrington High School's most valuable player.

The plea agreement calls for 10 years in prison, suspended after between three to seven years served, and 10 years of probation on the second-degree sexual assault charge. He will also receive a concurrent 10-year sentence, with three to seven years served, and five years probation on the robbery charge.

Gonzalez will be sentenced September 6. There, attorneys will argue if Gonzalez should be sentenced to the maximum seven years in prison or three years. Arguments between Sonnemann and Bridgeport-based defense attorney Dennis Bradley are likely to take place before Judge James P. Ginocchio, who has heard other matters related to the case.

As part of the deal, Gonzalez will register as a sex offender for 10 years, will not be allowed to have contact with the victim and will likely undergo sex offender treatment and a substance abuse evaluation while in prison.

Gonzalez, who was soft spoken while pleading guilty, remains in custody on $65,100 bond.

Toribio is due in court June 19. It's unclear if the plea could affect Toribio's case.

Although Toribio and Gonzalez allegedly both had intercourse with girls they knew were 13, according to arrest affidavits, a codefendant's guilty plea may not make an imminent impact on a case.

Toribio's attorney, Torrington-based Charles Brower, declined to comment. Bradley could not be reached for comment.

However, public defender John Cizik spoke in general terms about how guilty pleas affect codefendants' cases.

"It depends on what my client's record would be, what my client's involvement would be. I kind of look at it as every defendant is different and every crime is different," said Cizik.

Several Torrington High School students and former football players still have pending cases at Litchfield Superior Court.

Gonzalez's codefendants in the robbery case, two juveniles and two Red Raiders football players, were arrested and charged with felony robbery and assault related to the same alleged March 2012 incident.

Jeffrey Holder, 18, played in the 2011 football season and William Castillo, 18, played in both the 2011 and 2012 season. Attorneys are scheduled to begin jury selection in the Castillo case on Aug. 2. Holder is next scheduled to appear in Litchfield Superior Court on June 21.

The case of Torrington High School student Alec Berkemeier, 16, also appears set to go to trial. Berkemeier is the third of three defendants in an alleged gang rape of an incoherent and drunk 13-year-old girl in 2011. Berkemeier appeared on then-head coach Dan Dunaj's 2011 fall roster.

Codefendants in the same alleged 2011 gang rape, Kenuel Weaver-Hunte, 17, and Dyllan Rodriguez, 17, pleaded guilty to risk of injury to a minor, a felony, and were both sentenced to 120 days in jail. They are currently serving out their sentences at Manson Youth Institution in Cheshire.

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08/02/13

Two sexual assault cases against a former Torrington High School star football player were continued for a second time this week.

Prosecutors have offered Joan Toribio, 18, 330 Highland Ave., Torrington, a plea agreement, although the terms of the deal were not disclosed, Friday. After the second court appearance in a week, Litchfield Superior Court Judge James Ginocchio said Toribio must accept or reject the agreement at his next court appearance, Aug. 30.

Toribio is one of four former Red Raiders teammates and codefendants all charged with sexual assault. Torrington Police began investigating the allegations after one of two 13-year-old victims told police she was raped when she and a friend arranged a late-night meeting at Toribio's mother's residence, on Feb. 10.

There, the reporting victim told police she was force-fed alcohol and smoked marijuana for the first time, before being raped by Torrington High School's 2012 most valuable player, Edgar Gonzalez, 18. The girl sustained, "internal injuries," as a result of the attack, according to prosecuting State's Attorney Terri Sonnemann.

The case gained national attention after a March 20 Register Citizen report detailed cyber-bullying against the two victims of the alleged sexual assaults. Peers called the victims "whore," and "snitch," via Twitter.

Gonzalez pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault and second-degree robbery in June. His sentencing is scheduled for September. Two more codefendants remain unnamed because they were minors, both 17 years old, at the time of the alleged assaults.

Ginocchio granted a continuance to Toribio at the request of his attorney, Charles Brower of Torrington, but told the defense the case needs to be resolved.

"I'm just asking that the family have a little more time to consider the offer," said Brower, noting that he'd met with Sonnemann after pre-trial hearings Wednesday, and plans to meet with the prosecutor again, Monday.

The case was moved to Aug. 30, but Ginocchio told the defense, "It has to be final. There needs to be some closure to this case."

The terms of the plea agreement were not disclosed in court, Friday.

According to the terms of Gonzalez's plea agreement, he'll receive two concurrent sentences of 10 years in prison, execution suspended after between three and seven years served. One sentence is related to a second-degree robbery conviction, in which Gonzalez is accused of assaulting three 14-year-old boys in search of cash.

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08/27/13

Jury selection began Tuesday in the trial of a Torrington teen who is accused of jumping out of a moving vehicle to assault three 14-year-old boys in search of cash.

William Castillo, 18, of 330 Highland Ave., Apt. 13C, is charged with first-degree robbery, risk of injury to a child, third-degree assault, conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery and attempted sixth-degree larceny. Castillo is one of three former Torrington High School football players and one unnamed juvenile identified in the assault and robbery investigation for the March 2012 incident. Jeffrey Holder, 19, and Edgar Gonzalez, 18, were also identified as suspects. Castillo has pleaded not guilty in the robbery case.

Three jurors have been selected so far for the Castillo trial, with jury selection expected to resume Thursday morning at Litchfield Superior Court. Evidence is currently set to heard in court beginning Oct. 1. Gonzalez has since been charged, with codefendant and teammate Joan Toribio, 18, in a sexual assault and cyber-bullying case involving two 13-year-old girls which garnered national attention. Gonzalez pleaded guilty in June to second-degree sexual assault and second-degree robbery in Litchfield Superior Court, and will serve between three and seven years in prison as part of a plea deal related to both cases. Holder pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery on Aug. 8 in relation to the March 2012 robbery and is awaiting sentencing by a Litchfield Superior Court judge.

Toribio, who was not charged in the robbery case, has a court appearance Friday where he must either accept or reject a plea agreement offered to him.Castillo is accused, with the other teens, of leaving Torrington High School’s March 2012 dodgeball tournament in an sports-utility vehicle, and engaging in an impromptu assault on three 14-year-old boys.

When the defendants allegedly spotted three 14-year-old boys walking down Workman Avenue, one defendant told Torrington Police Detective Todd Fador that someone in the vehicle said, “they were going to get the three kids walking on Workman Avenue.”

The driver, a 16-year-old, told police he attempted to avert the assault and said “no” multiple times. He told police the other defendants jumped out of the vehicle while it was still moving, he estimated at 25 miles per hour, after he’d turned down Workman Avenue, and slowed down to avoid injuring the teens jumping out of the vehicle.

One of the victims said the defendants jumped out of the car and said, “Where the money.” Another victim reported being punched in the face when defendants realized he didn’t have any cash, and pretended to be “knocked out” to avoid further conflict, according to an arrest warrant for Holder.

The alleged incident came to light after a high school student allegedly overheard a conversation between Gonzalez and a juvenile, about the assault. A parent of two of the boys had immediately reported the alleged incident to police, after one of his sons returned home with a swollen nose and lip.

It’s unclear if a third teen involved in the investigation, Anthony Davis, was ever charged. There is no record of Davis in the Connecticut adult judicial database, and Davis and Gonzalez both told police no stops were made while the juvenile drove the teens to Woodland Heights, 330 Highland Ave.

The complex is also known as “High Woods,” and was Gonzalez’s Torrington home.

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08/09/13

A former Torrington High School football player pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery, after he and three more teammates allegedly tried to rob three 14-year-old boys.

Jeffrey Holder, 19, is one of three former Torrington High School football players and one unnamed juvenile, now codefendants, identified in the assault and robbery investigation. Holder, William Castillo and Edgar Gonzalez, both 18, were also identified as suspects.

Gonzalez has since been charged, with codefendant and teammate Joan Toribio, 18, in a sexual assault and cyber-bullying case which garnered national attention.

Now, attorneys will argue whether Holder should receive a suspended prison sentence and remain on probation for six years, or if he should spend two years in jail, of the six year sentence, before being released to probation. A Litchfield Superior Court judge will decide Holder's final sentence.

Holder is accused, with the other teens, of leaving Torrington High School's March 2012 dodgeball tournament in an sports-utility vehicle, and engaging in an impromptu assault on three 14-year-old boys. The teens attacked the boys in search of cash, according to Holder's arrest warrant.

When the defendants allegedly spotted three 14-year-old boys walking down Workman Avenue, one defendant told Torrington Police Detective Todd Fador that someone in the vehicle said, "they were going to get the three kids walking on Workman Avenue."

The driver, a 16-year-old, told police he attempted to avert the assault and said "no" multiple times. He told police the other defendants jumped out of the vehicle while it was still moving, he estimated at 25 miles per hour, after he'd turned down Workman Avenue, and slowed down to avoid injuring the teens jumping out of the vehicle.

One of the victims said the defendants jumped out of the car and said, "Where the money." Another victim reported being punched in the face when defendants realized he didn't have any cash, and pretended to be "knocked out" to avoid further conflict, according to Holder's arrest warrant.

The alleged incident came to light after a high school student allegedly overheard a conversation between Gonzalez and a juvenile, about the assault. A parent of two of the boys had immediately reported the alleged incident to police, after one of his sons returned home with a swollen nose and lip.

It's unclear if a third teen involved in the investigation, Anthony Davis, was ever charged. There is no record of Davis in the Connecticut adult judicial database, and Davis and Gonzalez both told police no stops were made while the juvenile drove the teens to Woodland Heights, 330 Highland Ave.

The complex is also known as "High Woods," and was Gonzalez's Torrington home. He has been in custody since his February arrest.

Holder pleaded down from much more serious charges, including felonies risk of injury to a minor, first-degree robbery, and conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery, and misdemeanors attempt to commit sixth-degree larceny and third-degree assault.

Holder's final football season was the 2011-2012 school year.


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August 30, 2013

Six jurors and two alternates have been selected in Superior Court to decide whether William Castillo, 18, is guilty of robbing three teenage boys last year in Torrington.

Castillo, 18, of 330 Highland Ave., is charged with first- and second-degree robbery in connection with the incident in March of 2012.

He rejected an undisclosed plea bargain to avoid trial.

Castillo is represented by Waterbury attorneys Jason M. Lipsky and John Kaloidis.

The evidence portion of trial is slated to begin Oct. 1.


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09/06/13

Former Torrington High School football star Joan Toribio pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree sexual assault in one of two cases against him involving the rape of a 13-year-old girl.

The plea agreement calls for Toribio, 18, 330 Highland Ave., Torrington, to serve 10 years suspended after nine months and for him to be on probation for 10 years.

Both the state and defense attorneys argued against sex offender registration.

Toribio is one of four former Red Raiders teammates and codefendants all charged with sexual assault. Torrington Police began investigating the allegations after one of two 13-year-old victims told police she was raped when she and a friend arranged a late-night meeting at Toribio’s mother’s residence, on Feb. 10.

There, the reporting victim told police she was force-fed alcohol and smoked marijuana for the first time, before being raped by Torrington High School’s 2012 most valuable player, Edgar Gonzalez, 18. The girl sustained, “internal injuries,” as a result of the attack, according to prosecuting State’s Attorney Terri Sonnemann.

The case gained national attention after a March 20 Register Citizen report detailed cyber-bullying against the two victims of the alleged sexual assaults. Peers called the victims “whore,” and “snitch,” via Twitter.

Gonzalez pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault and second-degree robbery in June. His sentencing is scheduled for September. Two more codefendants remain unnamed because they were minors, both 17 years old, at the time of the alleged assaults.

According to the terms of Gonzalez’s plea agreement, he’ll receive two concurrent sentences of 10 years in prison, execution suspended after between three and seven years served. One sentence is related to a second-degree robbery conviction, in which Gonzalez is accused of assaulting three 14-year-old boys in search of cash.

Gonzalez will be sentenced this afternoon in Litchfield Superior Court.

Toribio is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 15 pending a pre-sentencing investigation.

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09/06/13

Torrington High School’s 2012 most valuable football player will spend six years in prison and be forced to register as a sex offender for his involvement in the rape of a 13-year-old in a case that captured national attention after two victims in the case were subject to vicious online bullying.

Edgar Gonzalez, 18, was sentenced in Litchfield Superior Court Friday to 10 years suspended after six years with five years probation on the charge of second-degree sexual assault as well as 10 years suspended after three years with 10 years probation on the charge of second-degree robbery related to a separate 2012 incident. Gonzalez will also have to register as a sex offender for 10 years. His sentences will be served concurrently.

Gonzalez was arrested in February and accused of raping a 13-year-old girl. Peers followed the arrests of Gonzalez, and fellow teammate, neighbor and friend Joan Toribio, also 18, with a deluge of online name-calling, referring to the victims in the case as “hoe” and “whore.” He pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault and second-degree robbery in June.

Toribio pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault Friday for the rape of a 13-year-old girl in an incident that occurred on the same night, Feb. 10, in Toribio’s family’s Highland Avenue apartment, but with a different victim.

The case drew local and national headlines after the victims were viciously bullied on Twitter by supporters of Gonzalez and Toribio. The Register Citizen published tweets relating to the case in a March 20 story.

Arrest affidavits describing circumstances of charges against the two have since been unsealed. In Gonzalez’s arrest affidavit he is accused of raping the 13-year-old girl despite her saying “no,” multiple times.

Presenting facts the state sought to prove in the event of a trial, prosecuting state’s attorney Terri Sonnemann noted the same accusation to Judge John Danaher. She said Gonzalez was told by the victim, “She repeatedly said she didn’t want it to occur, but of course it did,” about second-degree sexual assault charges.

“The victim did sustain some injuries as a result of the defendant,” said Sonnemann, “some internal injuries.” For this reason, Sonnemann said, the victim went to the hospital and was subject to a forensic rape evaluation, commonly called a “rape kit.”

Sonnemann also alluded to marijuana and alcohol use during the course of the night. The victim, “indicated that they had consumed some substances,” Sonnemann said. According to Gonzalez’s arrest affidavit, Gonzalez at one point pulled the victim’s head back and poured a shot of alcohol down her throat. Gonzalez, Toribio and the victim also smoked marijuana, according to the affidavit, the victim said it was her first time doing so.

When Danaher heard the guilty plea, he asked Sonnemann whether the victims’ families wanted to be heard on the matter. Sonnemann said she’d spoken with them.

“It’s hard to say they’re in agreement with it, but it’s something with which they can live,” said Sonnemann. Family members of victims did not speak during the pleading, although the victim’s mother wept.

None of Gonzalez’s family members were present at his pleading, although several of the victim’s family members were present.

Two 17-year-old football players, whose names haven’t been released because of their age, have also been arrested and charged with second-degree sexual assault for alleged incidents involving one of the same 13-year-old victims.

Gonzalez was previously arrested on robbery and assault charges for a March 2012 alleged incident where he was accused, with other Torrington football players and students, of jumping, robbing and assaulting three juveniles in an out-of-school incident.

While those charges were pending, Gonzalez played in the 2012 football season and was subsequently honored as Torrington High School’s most valuable player.

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11/20/2013

As Joan Toribio was handcuffed and led out of a courtroom at the Litchfield Judicial District courthouse Tuesday morning to begin a nine-month prison sentence for second-degree sexual assault, his family burst into tears.

Toribio’s sentencing is a final chapter in a case that drew national headlines after he and a football teammate were arrested for sexually assaulting two separate 13-year-old girls on the same February night earlier this year. After Toribio and his friend, Edgar Gonzalez, were arrested, fellow athletes and classmates took to social media to bully the victims, calling them “whores” and “snitches.”

The night before the sentencing, a porch light at the former Torrington High School football player’s home was off. Except for the blue glare of a television lighting the window sill, there were no signs of activity. Inside, Toribio clung to his final moments of freedom.

A woman who identified herself as Toribio’s sister pulled up to the family home, a modest apartment complex in Torrington on Highland Avenue, and an unassuming epicenter for a rape case that garnered national attention, drew comparisons to a similar one in Steubenville, Ohio, and forced school administrators to confront whether its school was doing something to foster a “culture of rape” and “male privilege.”

Lost in the fervor, friends and Toribio’s attorney said, is the identity of a 18-year-old rising football star, who they say will likely be remembered for a “juvenile” mistake.

On Tuesday, before a mostly empty courtroom at Litchfield Superior Court, Judge John Danaher handed down Toribio’s sentence: He’ll spend nine months in jail and serve 10 years of probation - but won’t have to register as a sex offender - after pleading guilty to second-degree sexual assault in the February rape of a 13-year-old girl. Nine months is the mandatory minimum for second-degree sexual assault.

Toribio’s teammate, Edgar Gonzalez, is already serving a six-year sentence for second-degree sexual assault and second-degree robbery. He was also required to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Toribio, who stood before the judge in a black sweatshirt and dark blue jeans, didn’t say much when addressing the court, but acknowledged his decision to engage in what prosecuting State’s Attorney Terri Sonnemann called a “consensual” sexual encounter with an underage girl was “wrong.”

Toribio’s Torrington-based attorney, Charles Brower, told the court his client was a “very nice kid” who did something “juvenile and immature.”

Danaher said he hopes Toribio can salvage his life after he’s released.

“You are the beneficiary of the victims whose parents aren’t out for blood,” he said. “Sometimes what people do goes beyond a mistake and becomes a crime, and that’s where you are today.”

Members of the 13-year-old victim’s family elected not to attend Tuesday’s sentencing, with Sonnemann speaking on their behalf. She condemned Toribio’s decision to have at least two sexual encounters with a girl he knew was underage.

The state’s age of consent is 16, falling outside the state’s Romeo and Juliet provision, which allows for sexual relationships if the participants aren’t more than three years apart, because of the five-year age gap between Toribio and the victim.

“I don’t think it was a rash [decision]; it was just a bad one,” Sonnemann said. “He’ll pay a steep price for it. This was a difficult situation, and this was the most palatable resolution. No one is 100 percent happy, but this is something everybody can live with.”

A local victim’s advocate said the state’s age of consent laws safeguard victims from being taken advantage of by much-older perpetrators.

“If a girl has a drink, it doesn’t mean she wants to be raped,” said Barbara Spiegel, executive director of Torrington’s Susan B. Anthony Project. “If a girl wears a short skirt, it doesn’t mean she wants to be raped. It means she wants to wear a short skirt.”

Toribio, who had been free on bond, sat quietly with his family before his case was called. His sister and other family members burst into tears when marshals led Toribio away in handcuffs. Afterward, his attorney, Brower, said Toribio never denied the sexual relationship.

“The facts are the facts, and he’s never tried to deny any of the facts,” Brower said. “He’s very stoic about this and very accepting about what occurred.”

The real Joan Toribio?

A former teammate who spoke to the Register Citizen didn’t see Toribio as a criminal.

“I don’t think of him as a criminal,” said Joel Beltre, 20, who went to school with Toribio, played on the same football team with him for two years and has lived next door to him for a half-decade.

Raised by a single mother the last eight years, Toribio developed a reputation as a talented football player at Torrington High School. He spent much of his life in the same apartment complex, on Highland Avenue, where he and friends played football in a small grass lot feet from his front door,

In his formative years, during those games, Toribio developed a knack for football. In high school, Beltre said, Toribio was an indispensable part of the team, playing multiple positions. Because of his athletic prowess, he was a popular figure on campus, but was quiet and “not much of a trouble-maker.”

It was that popularity which led some of Toribio’s classmates to stand up for him on a social media website. A Register Citizen report in March detailed cyber-bullying in which Torrington students took to Twitter to blast the victims, calling them “whores” and “snitches.”

Toribio is only one of four former Red Raiders charged with sexual assault stemming from the February incident at Toribio’s mother’s home.

Another victim, also 13, told police she was forced to drink alcohol and smoke marijuana, before being raped by Gonzalez, the school football team’s most valuable player. The girl suffered “internal injuries” from the attack, Sonnemann said.

Two other former football players, both juveniles, were also charged with second-degree sexual assault of one of the victims. Their names and the details of those cases have not been released due to the age of the suspects. Those alleged assaults did not occur on the same night as those involving Toribio and Gonzlez.

But it was Toribio and Gonzalez’s names that were splashed across newspapers and appeared on national websites, with TV crews setting up camp in the otherwise quaint town to chronicle every scintillating development.

The Torrington rape case, and similar ones across the country, was cited as evidence of a “rape culture” and prompted school officials to draft a new code of conduct criticized by a local chapter of the American Civil Liberties for severely restricting students’ freedom of speech.

Beltre said the rape case unraveled Toribio’s chances of getting a football scholarship.

“He pretty much ruined his future,” Beltre said. “He was on the road to getting recruited.”

Since he was released on bond, the 18-year-old Toribio maintained a low profile.

His Facebook page has been dormant for more than a year. His last status update, a picture of him carrying the ball in one of Torrington’s football games, was posted in October 2012, four months before he and Gonzalez were arrested and accused of sexual assault.

In Toribio’s mugshot, he stared back blankly at the camera. Few neighbors who lived in his complex identified him for anything other than his mugshot, recalling scant details about his life aside from what they read in newspaper accounts.

That’s a far cry from how Brower described his client, saying he is intelligent and interested in attending college after his release.

One woman, who lives next door to Toribio but declined to give her name, said Toribio’s criminal case weighed heavy on his conscience, transforming him from sociable into a shut-in, reticent to speak to anyone.

“It’s a miracle if I see him outside,” she said.

Brower said his client, who was suspended from school after charges were filed and later expelled, has been finishing required course work to get his high school diploma, which was awarded in August. Brower said his client has a “college-level GPA” and will apply to a nearby college. He believes the sexual assault was isolated and that Toribio won’t become a repeat offender.

“I’m 74 years old,” Brower said. “I’ve seen a lot of wiseguys, and he’s not one of them.”

‘A black eye’

Months later, as the school and city looks to move forward from the ugly episode, the head of the Board of Education is convinced the school’s culpability in the football rape case is limited.

Board Chairman Ken Traub said the rape case “wasn’t a black eye for the school” since it took place off campus, on a weekend, not during school hours.

“The school’s responsibility has to end at some point,” Traub said. “I don’t believe the schools had any responsibility or culpability in what happened.”

Internally, the school board made efforts to ensure students are better educated about rape, ramping up educational programs, changing policy and restructuring the football program. Torrington also now has an administrator assigned for every grade in secondary education, Traub said, a measure aimed at making administrators more aware of potential problems.

Dan Dunaj, the former football coach who allowed Gonzalez to play football while facing robbery charges, resigned, and he was replaced in June by Gaitan Rodriguez. For awhile, the board discussed cutting its athletic programs, including football, since it’s a “non-mandated” program, Traub said.

Traub characterized the rape charges as only a small part. Ultimately, that measure was taken off the table, with the board finding other ways to cut fat from the budget.

“Was it ultimately a deciding factor, no,” Traub said. “But was it a discussion point? Yes. The extracurriculars are the hook. That’s the reason they stay.”

Traub said the school has done its part to distance itself from a culture he said was unfairly attached to the football program following the arrests of at least seven former players on charges ranging from rape to harassment.

Gonzalez, 19, is serving six years for his role in the February rape. Another former football player, Devone Thomas, 17, will be in court on Friday on charges of first-degree sexual assault and harassment.

The mother of the alleged victim in that case told the Register Citizen her son was bullied before the alleged sexual assault.

Two other former players, Alec Berkemeier and Dyllan Rodriguez, who was also a member of the school’s track team, were arrested on rape charges in 2011. Rodriguez, and a fellow student and non-athlete, Kenuel Weaver-Hunte, both 17, pleaded guilty to risk of injury to a minor earlier this year and served four months in prison.

Berkemeier is awaiting trial and is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.

“If it’s one person, bad decision,” Traub said. “Two, it’s, ‘Come on, guys.’ When it’s seven people, you do have to say there is a lack of understanding in right from wrong.”

Traub said the rape case won’t be forgotten. Over time, though, he hopes it’s not the first thing people associate with the city.

“No one wants to see this city remembered for this,” Traub said. “I don’t know if Torrington will ever have closure on it. This is a societal problem, not a school problem.”

Spiegel hopes the case forces Torrington to examine its conscience.

“I think there were some very painful lessons,” she said. “I’d be concerned about other victims coming forward because the victim experience was horrible. It could have a chilling effect on victims. I think next time there’s a similar case, a victim will say, ‘I’m not going to the police. I’m not reporting.’ This could really quiet down the next victim.”


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