PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced that a Providence man was sentenced yesterday in Providence County Superior Court to serve 23 years at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) after being found guilty in November 2019 of sexually assaulting a woman at a home in Providence.
James White (age 30) was found guilty on November 12, 2019 by a Providence County Superior Court jury of one count of first-degree sexual assault. The jury returned the verdict after three hours of deliberation following a one-week trial presided over by Superior Court Justice Netti C. Vogel.
At yesterday's hearing before Judge Vogel, the court sentenced White to 38 years at the ACI with 23 years to serve and the balance of the sentence suspended with probation. The court further issued a no contact order between White and the victim. Additionally, the court ordered that White comply with all statutory requirements relating to sex offender registration.
Since White's conviction is for first-degree sexual assault through the use of force, Rhode Island law requires that, upon his release from prison, White register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.
"Cases involving sexual violence harm victims in unimaginable ways. Defendant's reprehensible conduct here entirely warrants the long sentence imposed by the Court, and that long sentence will ensure that he will not be in a position to harm others well into the future," said Attorney General Neronha. "I am grateful to the victim for her courage in seeing this case through to the end, and to the Providence Police Department for their strong investigatory work in support of this successful prosecution."
During the trial, the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that during the early morning hours of December 4, 2016, White sexually assaulted the victim, who was known to him, at a home on Dexter Street in Providence.
White was arrested after an alert neighbor called the Providence Police Department after hearing the victim's cries for help.
"We hope the victim can begin to heal from the pain inflicted upon her that night in 2016. We appreciate Judge Vogel's strong message that this violent assault will result in a long prison sentence," said Steven M. Pare, Providence Commissioner of Public Safety. "Because of the hard work of prosecutors from the RI Attorney General's Office, Providence Police Detective Koren Garcia, and a courageous neighbor who reported what they heard that night, the defendant has been brought to justice."
Detective Koren Garcia of the Providence Police Department led the investigation into the case. Assistant Attorney General Meghan McDonough and Special Assistant Attorney General Katelyn Revens prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of the Attorney General.
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