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Luis Manuel Ayala-Velasquez, 56, of Reading, was arrested last year after a grand jury investigation where sexual assault charges were recommended against more than a dozen members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith, Attorney General Michelle Henry said.
Ayala-Velasquez will serve 14 to 46 years in prison after pleading guilty earlier this year to five felony counts, including rape of an unconscious person, Henry said. He was sentenced Wednesday, July 3 in Northampton County Court. Following release from prison, Ayala-Velasquez must register his whereabouts as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
The crimes happened at Ayala-Velasquez’s home in Bethlehem, beginning around 2001, and later when the victim was an adult, according to Henry. Ayala-Velasquez assaulted the victim while she was sleeping, the attorney general said.
“The courageous victims who came forward and told the grand jurors their horrific stories of abuse led to charges against predatory defendants,” Henry said. “The abuse in this case began decades ago, but the brave victim and the diligent efforts of OAG agents and attorneys ensured that justice was served and, at long last, the defendant was held accountable.”
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