Man sentenced to 20 years in prison for violent sexual assault

Niagara County District Attorney Brian D. Seaman announced Friday, June 21, that Duvan A. Berrio-Hernandez, of no fixed address, was sentenced today in District Court by Judge Caroline Wojtaszek to 20 years in state prison for his conviction of first-degree sexual abuse. Berrio-Hernandez previously admitted to sexually assaulting a woman in Niagara Falls on November 5 of last year.

Seaman stated, “What happened to this young woman was simply the realization of her worst nightmare. The defendant saw her running, began to follow her and then obscenely exposed himself to her. She tried to flag down help, screamed for help, but she was unable to get it. The defendant then chased her, threw her to the ground and sexually assaulted her while threatening her with a knife. This individual was in this country illegally. I do not know the details of his arrival in the United States or in Niagara Falls, but he clearly poses the greatest danger to our community. He will now be imprisoned here for the next 20 years for his heinous crime and then hopefully deported.”

The case was investigated by the Niagara Falls Police Department and prosecuted by Heather Nicholson, head of the Special Victims Unit.