Jaime Marin Lopez Mendoza, the 27-year-old Dream Hotel employee who was convicted of raping a guest, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the assault. In December 2009 Mendoza had sneaked into a female guest's room, knowing that she and her boyfriend had come back intoxicated, and began to have sex with her as she slept. When she awoke to find him on top of her, he fled. Mendoza said at the sentencing, "I just want to say God bless you all, and to forgive us all. I will continue to fight for my freedom here because I am not a rapist."
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Jill Konviser told Mendoza, "This crime was not only violent and calculated, but it was a master class in cowardice." He also said it was the "ultimate example of depravity." The victim did not attend the sentencing, but wrote in a letter read at the sentencing, "Every day I re-live multiple flashbacks from an inexcusable and life changing event...Even when I look into my boyfriend's eyes and say 'I love you,' I still remember. I would never wish this upon anyone." Mendoza initially claimed that he was not involved and still says that the sex was consensual.
