COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA UNPUBLISHED Present: Judges Athey, Ortiz and Senior Judge Clements Argued at Leesburg, Virginia DARIO FIGUEROA RODAS MEMORANDUM OPINION* BY v. Record No. 1204-22-4 JUDGE CLIFFORD L. ATHEY, JR. AUGUST 1, 2023 COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF FAIRFAX COUNTY Grace Burke Carroll, Judge Dawn M. Butorac, Public Defender, for appellant. Mike Eaton, Assistant Attorney General (Jason S. Miyares, Attorney General; Jonathan M. Larcomb, Assistant Attorney General, on brief), for appellee. Dario Figueroa Rodas (“Rodas”) was convicted of attempted rape by a jury and sentenced by the Fairfax County Circuit Court (“trial court”) to ten years of active incarceration. On appeal, Rodas contends that the trial court abused its discretion in its sentencing decision, specifically alleging that he was punished for exercising his right to demand a jury trial. For the following reasons, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. I. BACKGROUND On appeal, we recite the facts “in the ‘light most favorable’ to the Commonwealth, the prevailing party in the trial court.” Hammer v. Commonwealth, 74 Va. App. 225, 231 (2022) (quoting Commonwealth v. Cady, 300 Va. 325, 329 (2021)). Doing so requires us to “discard the evidence of the accused in conflict with that of the Commonwealth, and regard as true all the * This opinion is not designated for publication. See Code § 17.1-413(A). credible evidence favorable to the Commonwealth and all fair inferences to be drawn therefrom.” Cady, 300 Va. at 329 (quoting Commonwealth v. Perkins, 295 Va. 323, 324 (2018)). In 2019, Rodas and his daughter (“M.F.H.”) left their home in Honduras and eventually immigrated to Virginia. By late 2020, Rodas and the nine-year-old M.F.H. rented a bedroom in Yakelin Hernandez’s Fairfax County home. On January 26, 2021, M.F.H. was in bed when Rodas disrobed, climbed on top of his daughter, removed her clothing, and began to kiss and touch her stomach and legs. M.F.H. stated that her father used his “personal part” to do “stuff that [married people] do” to her “personal part.” 1 M.F.H. eventually pushed Rodas off of her and fled the room. M.F.H., who appeared pale and disheveled, encountered Hernandez in the hallway outside of the bedroom. She told Hernandez that Rodas “was touching her” and described how Rodas had put his mouth and hands on her body and genitals. As a result, Hernandez contacted the Herndon police and reported the incident. When officers arrived, they interviewed M.F.H., Rodas, and others living in the house. Rodas was subsequently transported to the Herndon Police Department, where he denied his daughter’s allegations before being arrested. Detective Calo subsequently interrogated Rodas while he was held at the Fairfax Adult Detention Center. Detective Calo, also a native Spanish speaker, believed that his fluency would help to “establish a conversation that flows naturally.” During the recorded interview, Rodas admitted to a sexual encounter with his daughter, M.F.H. Rodas stated that M.F.H. “seduced him,” in part, by moving her underwear out of the way. He also stated that she “grabbed his penis …
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals