WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP) — A man has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a young girl.
According to the Forsyth County District Attorney’s Office, Joshua Hernandez-Figueroa pleaded guilty to first-degree statutory rape and taking indecent liberties with a child on Monday, stemming from a 2019 assault.
The victim’s parents told officers in September 2019 that their daughter had been assaulted by Hernandez-Figueroa, who was considered a family friend, in Winston-Salem.
Hernandez-Figueroa communicated in March or April 2019 with the then 11-year-old girl via Snapchat before going to her home and assaulting her. At the time, Hernandez-Figueroa was 20-years-old.
Hernandez-Figueroa was sentenced to a minimum of 16 and a maximum of 24 years in prison and must register as a sex offender. His estimated release date is in November 2047, according to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.
“Our children are the most vulnerable and precious members of our community. They must be protected, and their abusers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” DA Jim O’Neill said in a statement.
