BOSTON, October 5, 2018— An East Boston man was sentenced to prison today for sexually abusing a young boy as the child slept, Suffolk County District Attorney John P. Pappas said.

A Suffolk Superior Court jury last week convicted CELVYN MEJIA, 26, of indecent assault and battery on a child in connection with the 2017 assault; jurors acquitted Mejia of assault with intent to rape. During a sentencing hearing today, Judge Robert Tochka imposed a term of three to five years in state prison.

During the course of more than three days of testimony, Assistant District Attorney Alissa Goldhaber of the DA’s Child Protection Unit introduced evidence and testimony to prove that Mejia was an invited guest at a child’s birthday party at an East Boston apartment that began on March 4, 2017, and continued into the early morning hours of March 5 as adults continued to socialize and younger guests slept in one of the apartment’s bedrooms. The victim was also in attendance at the party but was a stranger to Mejia.

During the night, the victim awoke to find a highly intoxicated Mejia on top of him and touching him inappropriately. Hearing the child crying, another adult entered the room. Adults at the party called 911 and attempted to prevent Mejia from fleeing. He was able to leave the apartment but was later arrested.

Before Mejia’s sentence was imposed, Goldhaber read aloud a victim impact statement prepared by the victim.

“I was terrified. I was crying and he wouldn’t let me leave…. This wasn’t fair. Why me? Why did I deserve this?” he wrote. “When I spoke up about this, I felt good and brave. My #1 goal was to make sure this would never happen to anyone else.”

“Cases like this can be among the most challenging we deal with as prosecutors,” Pappas said. “But as difficult as they are for us, they’re even more difficult for the children who live through these events and testify before a courtroom full of strangers about the intimate details of their trauma. I’m proud of the victim for his strength and resilience, and I’m grateful to my staff who worked to hold his abuser accountable.”

Catherine McGuane was the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Mejia was represented by Alyssa Hackett.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.