Appeals Court Upholds Sentence Of Former Salem Football Player

SALEM, MA -- The Massachusetts Appeals Court upheld the sentence of a former Salem High School football player who was found guilty in 2012 for his role in a 2008 gang rape of a classmate. Rafael Nina-Brito, 28, had filed a motion to revise or revoke his sentence stemming from his conviction by a Salem Superior Court jury on a charge of rape.

The appeals court rejected his argument that his sentence was "unlawfully disparate" from the sentences received by his three codefendants and that he was punished for electing to proceed to trial. Nina-Brito also argued the judge failed to adequately consider his acceptance of responsibility for his conduct.

Nino-Brito, Harold Baltodano, Lois Arias, and Justin Louf raped the victim who was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana at Nino-Brito's mother's apartment in Lynn on February 15, 2008. Baltodano's case was severed, and the three remaining defendants were scheduled to have a joint trial commencing on March 19, 2012. But Arias and Louf changed their pleas to guilty before the start of the trial. Arias received a 4.5 to 5 year sentence and Louf was sentenced to 45-51 months in state prison.

At sentencing, Nino-Brito's attorneys argued that he was found guilty of rape while his co-defendants had pleaded guilty to the more serious charge of rape. They also argued that he had taken responsibility for his actions when he met with police shortly after the incident, saying he had only grabbed the victim's breast but did not have sex with her.

"I think I'm just as guilty as them, because I saw it happen . . . even if I didn't get involved . . . but I'm here fixing it now," Nino-Brito told Salem Police, according to court records. It's "all my fault because I didn't stop it."

Before the start of his May 2012 trial, prosecutors offered Nino-Brito a plea deal where he would have served five years in prison. He rejected the offer "because [he] believed it was the right thing to do at that time based on [his] attorney's advice for [him]self and [his] family."

The appeals court rejected Nino-Brito's argument that he was punished for going to trial by the trial judge, noting "the judge appropriately advised the defendant (and codefendants) that they would be rewarded for accepting responsibility and sparing the victim from the ordeal of testifying."

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Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).