By Conrad Dudderar
Associate Editor
EL RENO – A Yukon man has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting his neighbor while he was intoxicated and striking the victim’s brother-in-law in the face.
Emilio Manuel Hernandez, 26, was sentenced Oct. 19 at a district court arraignment before Canadian County District Judge Khristan K. Strubhar.
Hernandez was charged Feb. 28 in Canadian County District Court with felony sexual battery and misdemeanor assault and battery.
The defendant “intentionally grabbing the buttocks, breasts and vaginal area” of a female victim “in a lewd and lascivious manner” and without her consent, according to the charging document.
Hernandez also struck the victim’s brother-in-law “on or about his face with a closed fist with force and violence.”
The defendant appeared with his attorney Joe Griffin for his Oct. 19th sentencing hearing.
Pursuant to a plea agreement between prosecutors and the defense, Hernandez received a 10-year suspended sentence – except for the first two years to serve in state prison – for the sexual battery.
He was sentenced to 90 days in the county jail for the assault and battery.
Hernandez was given credit for time served and ordered to comply with rules and conditions of supervised Department of Corrections’ probation after his release from prison.
The Yukon-area resident was ordered to attend sex offender counseling and to stay away from the victim. He must pay fines, victims’ compensation assessments, court costs, and DNA fees.
Both counts will run concurrently, and with a separate 2022 criminal case.
Canadian County Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Boyer told Judge Strubhar the plea agreement was fair to prosecutors.
Oklahoma City Police investigated the Feb. 20th sexual assault and battery that occurred at an apartment complex in the 2000 block of S Mustang Road. The apartments have a Yukon address but are in Oklahoma City limits.
Officer K. Erickson was dispatched at 9:28 p.m. that day on a welfare check.
The reporting party told police her neighbor “had just tried to rape her” while he was “possibly intoxicated,” according to a probable cause affidavit.
Upon arrival at the scene, officer Erickson observed Hernandez had “slurred speech, slow lethargic movements and was unsteady on his feet.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
The incident began when the female occupant heard a knock on her apartment door and opened it to see who was outside.
Hernandez then grabbed her arm, pulled her away from the door and used his body weight to pin her against the outside wall for an estimated 7-10 minutes. That’s when the sexual assault occurred.
Hernandez tried to pull the victim into an adjacent apartment and said he fantasized about her.
“(The victim) stated she was not able to get away from Hernandez groping her until he lost his balance and fell to the ground,” the officer’s affidavit reads.
She then contacted her sister and brother-in-law.
After the brother-in-law arrived at the apartment, Hernandez used his right hand to punch him on the left cheek with a closed fist.
Hernandez was arrested at the scene and booked at 10:54 p.m. Feb. 20 into the Canadian County Jail.
Just 2-1/2 weeks earlier, Hernandez had received an 18-month deferred sentence after pleading guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol and carrying a firearm while under the influence stemming from his October 2021 arrest by Mustang Police.
