Rapist gets decades in prison

He stole an image of innocence — and a girl's innocence.

For that, Aurelio Vallecillo-Sanchez was sentenced Tuesday to 40 to 60 years in prison — a term that is cut in half under state sentencing guidelines.

In one of the most “evil” crimes a prosecutor said she had seen, Vallecillo-Sanchez stole a centuries-old painting of the Virgin Mary in the hopes of selling it to fund an abortion for the 14-year-old girl he had raped.

Douglas County District Judge Joseph Troia sentenced the Omaha man to 30 to 40 years for the sexual assault and 10 to 20 years for the theft of “The Virgin Immaculata,” a painting that St. Cecilia Cathedral officials valued at $100,000.

Under state sentencing guidelines, Vallecillo-Sanchez, 40, will not be eligible for parole until he's 60. He most likely will not be released until he's 70.

His victim and her mother sat in the back row as Vallecillo-Sanchez was led away in handcuffs.

“You are so brave,” prosecutor Brenda Beadle told the girl after the hearing. “He won't hurt you anymore.”

Troia decried the pain and the suffering that Vallecillo-Sanchez caused the girl and her family.

After impregnating her, Vallecillo-Sanchez told the girl to tell her family and others that a teenage boy was the father. He even threatened to kill her and her family if she told anyone he was the father, Beadle said.

He then decided he needed money for an abortion. Using his children as lookouts, he stole the painting from a chapel in St. Cecilia Cathedral. He then took his victim and the painting to Mexico — hoping to get $30,000 for the painting. He got $3,000.

After taking the girl for an abortion, the doctor viewed an ultrasound and informed Vallecillo-Sanchez and the girl that he would not perform an abortion because the fetus was too far along.

Upon returning to Omaha, the girl eventually went to police. Police investigating the sexual assault of the girl then spoke with Vallecillo-Sanchez's children, who told them of a series of church thefts that Vallecillo-Sanchez committed in 2006 and 2007.

Troia noted that Vallecillo-Sanchez was suspected of stealing dozens of pieces of religious artwork from at least five area churches.

“It wasn't the only thing you stole,” Troia said. “You have shown little remorse for what happened to her.”

Assistant Douglas County Public Defender Kelly Steenbock disagreed. Steenbock said Vallecillo-Sanchez has shown nothing but contrition for his crimes since his arrest and pleaded no contest to the charges. Steenbock said his actions were fueled by a combination of alcoholism and financial desperation.

Steenbock said Vallecillo-Sanchez was a former professional soccer player in Mexico who came to the United States to find work to support his family. A fight with a co-worker led him to lose his job — and he turned to stealing to support his family, Steenbock said.

Vallecillo-Sanchez reportedly told officials that he didn't feel guilt over the theft of the paintings because he was “away from religion at the time.”

“I brought a lot of embarrassment to myself,” Vallecillo-Sanchez said through an interpreter. “I regret the mistakes I made ... and the way this has affected her and the way it will affect her in the future.”

Beadle said the girl has dropped out of school as she and her mother raise the child, now a toddler. Both the girl and mother have lived in fear and have had to overcome thoughts of suicide, Beadle said.

“What he did to her was evil and manipulative,” Beadle said. “He stole something far more precious than a valuable painting. He stole her innocence, her safety, her security and her self-esteem.

“(The victim) is a beautiful, bright young woman who should be enjoying the best years of her life. Instead ... this will affect her for the rest of her life.”

Contact the writer:

444-1275, todd.cooper@owh.com

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