Couple pleads guilty in Vernon sexual assault case in 2022

VERNON, CT – A couple arrested in 2022 in connection with a sexual assault investigation in Vernon involving a teenage girl and others that occurred two years earlier have entered guilty pleas in the case, prosecutors said.

Tolland Judicial District Attorney Matthew C. Gedansky and Hartford Judicial District Attorney Sharmese L. Walcott said Carlos Rivera and Taina Rivera, both 43 and formerly of Vernon, pleaded guilty Friday in Rockville Superior Court to two counts of second-degree sexual assault and one count of third-degree sexual assault.

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Arrest warrants show that at the time of their arrest in April 2022, they were each charged with five counts of first-degree sexual assault, five counts of third-degree sexual assault, five counts of endangering a child and five counts of unlawful sexual contact with a victim under the age of 16.

The Riveras’ arrest was the result of a lengthy investigation by detectives from the Vernon and Hartford police departments.

In April 2022, Vernon police received a complaint from a girl who was identified as a victim of “sexual abuse” by Carlos and Taina Rivera, according to case records. As a result of that complaint, police launched a multi-jurisdictional investigation that led to the arrest of the Riveras in connection with the sexual assaults of three people, two of whom were minors at the time, prosecutors said.

In one case, the Riveras were accused of taking a young girl they met through a friend to area hotels seven times in 2020 and 2021, the warrants say. On one occasion, they allegedly rented a room, used the pool and then returned to the room, where sextism occurred, the warrants say.

According to the arrest warrants, sexual acts also occurred at least five times in Rivera’s apartment in Vernon. The two denied that sexual intercourse took place. According to the arrest warrants, alcoholic beverages were often involved during the visits.

Sentencing for both is scheduled for September 27 in Superior Court in Rockville.