Mom Catches Man Who Was Hired to Renovate Family’s Bathroom Raping Her 11-Year-Old Daughter

YOU NEED TO KNOW

• A man will be sentenced to 30 years in prison for repeatedly raping an 11-year-old girl at the Virginia home where he was rented to work.

• Ricardo Leonel Mejia, 35, pleaded guilty to three counts of rape of a victim under the age of 13

• Prosecutors said the victim’s mother opened her locked bedroom door last fall to see Mejia naked on her daughter’s bed.

The man who was caught raping an 11-year-old girl in the house in Virginia where he was rented to work will be sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Ricardo Leonel Mejia, 35, was sentenced after pleading guilty in June to three counts of raping a victim under the age of 13, Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney Colin D. Stolle announced. Press release On October 7.

Prosecutors said the 11-year-old victim’s mother saw Mejia naked in her daughter’s bed on Oct. 9, 2024, and recognized him as the man she hired to renovate one of the bathrooms in their home.

The mother tried to check on her daughter before going to bed, but her daughter’s door was locked. Finally, according to prosecutors, the mother opened the door with a butter knife.

“Mejia jumped out of bed, grabbed some of his clothes, left the bedroom through the open window, and ran away,” the statement reads.

“The victim told police that the defendant had vaginal intercourse with her,” the statement continues. “A physical examination was performed on the victim and forensic analysis determined that Mejia’s DNA and spermatozoa were present on the victim.”

While speaking with Mejia, police said he admitted he “had a relationship” with the girl and knew she was underage. He also said that he had sexual intercourse with the girl for the third time that night, and that the first one took place in the bathroom a few days ago, when the girl’s parents were not at home.

Mejia also jumped out of a window because he was afraid to confront the victim’s father, prosecutors said.

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A judge sentenced Mejia to 75 years in prison with 45 years suspended, leaving 30 years behind bars.

The Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office said: Publish on X It was learned that Mejia was a citizen of El Salvador and was in the United States illegally at the time of the crime. They added that he would serve out his decades-long sentence before being taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

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