BROWN COUNTY (NBC 26) — Miles Cruz, the 18-year-old man convicted of attacking a woman on the East River Trail in De Pere, was sentenced Friday.
Judge Tammy Jo Hock sentenced Cruz to 42 1/2 years behind bars, and another 22 1/2 years of extended supervision.
Cruz pleaded no contest to first-degree sexual assault, kidnapping, strangulation and suffocation, and recklessly endangering safety in October last year. The attempted first-degree homicide charge against him was dismissed.
The attack on the East River Trail happened in October 2021.
The criminal complaint stated Cruz was connected to the crime through DNA evidence.
The complaint also stated Cruz denied ever touching or assaulting anyone.
The prosecution said they were concerned Cruz didn't take responsibility for his actions, and has been a disruptive presence in jail.
The defense said they were not arguing the facts of the case and acknowledged Cruz's history of substance use, but asked the judge to consider his age, his family, and his character, saying that he was employed and that he helped neighbors.
"As you sat here Mr. Cruz listening to all those horrific details that were relayed to you by the victim, you sat here completely emotionless," Hock said. "This is the type of offense that the people in our community are afraid of. They're scared of something like this happening. They don't expect something like this to happen in broad daylight on a Tuesday morning at 11 o'clock."
Before Cruz was sentenced, he declined to speak to the judge.
