A Simi Valley man convicted of sexually assaulting a woman on a cruise from Long Beach to Ensenada in 2015 has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison, officials announced Monday.
Anthony Paul De La Torriente, 30, a former cheerleading coach, was also ordered to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Earlier this year, De La Torriente was convicted of one count of sexual abuse and one count of abusive sexual contact, U.S. Attorney’s Office Central District of California officials said in a news release. The jury also found that the defendant knew that the victim was unable to give consent or she has said she was unwilling to engage in a sexual act.
It was revealed during the trial that De La Torriente volunteered to stay with the victim in her cabin after she had become severely intoxication during the excursion to Ensenada. Once he was alone with the victim, while their colleagues were getting food on the cruise ship, De La Torriente sexually assaulted the victim, officials said. When the colleagues returned, they found the victim’s cabin door had been double-locked from the inside, and when De La Torriente eventually unlocked the door the victim said De La Torriente had attacked her.
She then reported the assault to the cruise ship’s staff and swabs taken from the victim’s body matched De La Torriente’s DNA. In addition, swabs taken from inside and outside of the defendants underwear matched the victim’s DNA, officials said.
Authorities did not elaborate on the relationship between the victim and the defendant except hinting that they were colleagues.
The incident was investigated by the FBI.