Man Sentenced For Beating Woman With Brass Knuckles in NE Phila. Apartment
By Tony Hanson
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A young man, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, was sentenced today to 25-50 years in prison for the attempted sexual assault and savage beating that permanently injured the 63-year-old victim, attacked at random inside her Northeast Philadelphia apartment.
The victim, now 64, declined to come to court today for the sentencing.
"This is a woman who sees this man in her nightmares, and she does not need to see him again in court," says prosecutor Kristen Kemp.
Kemp says Abraham Cordova sneaked through an unlocked window, attacked the victim with a deadly weapon though she struggled mightily, and left her for dead.
"(He) brutally beat her with brass knuckles to the point she has actually lost all use of her left eye," Kemp says. "She had to spend months in the hospital, recuperating."
There are other physical scars. The victim said in a statement, read in court, that the defendant "totally devastated" and "ruined" her life.
But the prosecutor praised the cooperation and courage of the woman that helped lead to justice in this case.