Man convicted of rape sentenced to 16 years in prison

Roberto Servantes

GOSHEN, Ind. -- A sentencing document dated July 1 from Elkhart Superior Court 1 revealed 23-year-old Roberto Servantes has been sentenced to 16 years in prison with 509 days served after a jury trial found him guilty of Rape, a Level 3 Felony.

The rape charge stems from an incident which occurred on July 4, 2023.

The probable cause affidavit regarding this case states an officer with the Goshen Police Department responded to a residence on Mercer Avenue on July 5, 2023, after a woman called dispatch to report her mother was raped the night before.

The following contains details that some may find disturbing.

The responding officer arrived and spoke to the victim, who said she was at a 4th of July party the night before at a neighbor's house on Dewey Avenue where Servantes was also in attendance.

The victim told police she agreed to let Servantes stay on her couch at her home that night. The two left the party around 11:30 p.m.

Once at her home, the victim says Servantes kept insisting on having intercourse, even though she told him no repeatedly.

The victim told police later that night while asleep, Servantes forced himself on her.

According to court documents, the victim said she couldn't fight back due to her disability and told Servantes to stop multiple times and screamed for help.

The victim said before leaving the apartment, Servantes apologized to her, stating his brain just "snapped."

The victim was then taken to Goshen Hospital for a Sexual Assault Nurse Examination.

A detective later spoke with Servantes about what happened that night and he denied having intercourse with the victim. He also declined to provide a DNA sample.

On Sept. 11, 2023, a search warrant for his DNA was reviewed and signed by a judge. The warrant was executed later that afternoon.

On Mar. 6, 2024, GPD received the lab results for biology analysis for the samples collected. Police say the results showed an external genital swab taken from victim during the SANE exam contained a DNA mixture of two individuals.

The victim was assumed as a contributor, and according to the report, "The DNA profile is at least 1 trillion times more likely if it originated from Victim 1 and [Servantes] than if it originated from Victim 1 and an unknown, unrelated individual."

Court documents state Servantes was taken into custody in April 2024 and was initially charged with two counts of Level 3 Felony Rape.

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