Victim Testifies in Sentencing Hearing for Jesse Matthew

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Image: Jesse Matthew (Fairfax County Police Department)

In 10 minutes of testimony Thursday, a woman from India gave a frightening account of the sexual assault she endured nearly 10 years ago in Fairfax City, according to media reports.

The woman testified at the start of a sentencing hearing in the Fairfax Circuit Court for Jesse Matthew, the Charlottesville man convicted last week of attempted capital murder, abduction and sexual assault in the 2005 case. During his trial on June 10, Matthew entered an Alford plea to the charges, claiming his innocence but acknowledging that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him.

Matthew, 33, also faces capital murder charges in the killing of a University of Virginia student.

In the victim-impact hearing on Thursday, the victim described how the crime has affected her, helping Judge David Schell determine an appropriate punishment, WTTG-TV Channel 5 reported. Matthew is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 2, and he faces up to three life terms in prison.

The victim described how, on the night of the attack on Sept. 24, 2005, she was grabbed from behind as she was walking home from a grocery store on Jermantown Road, the Washington Post reported. The attacker fled the scene, possibly startled by the lights of a car pulling into a nearby parking lot.

The woman also talked about the physical and emotional injuries she suffered from the attack, saying she was depressed and in denial about what had happened, the Post reported.

She eventually moved back to India and started a family of her own. But when Matthew was charged with the attack, she agreed to fly back to the U.S. to testify at his trial.

The victim has been identified in court records, but she has not been identified by the Associated Press or by Washington-area media outlets covering the criminal proceedings. The AP and the Washington Post said they generally withhold the names of victims in sexual assault cases.

Matthew also has been linked by DNA evidence to the killing of Hannah Graham, a University of Virginia student. Graham vanished in September, and her remains were found about five weeks later.

In that case, Matthew faces charges in Albemarle County of capital murder, first-degree murder and abduction with intent to defile. No trial has been scheduled.