WASHINGTON – A Montgomery County man faces the possibility of a century in prison after admitting he abused multiple children while living with a local family.
Adderli Cruz-Rosario, 21, of Silver Spring, pleaded guilty to one count of child abuse in the first degree and four counts of child sex abuse.
Court documents describe Cruz-Rosario as a “live-in boyfriend” at a home along Piney Branch Road. At Montgomery County Circuit Court in Rockville, a prosecutor outlined the abuse a woman’s five children faced as they lived with him there.
The prosecutor read from charging documents stating Cruz-Rosario physically harmed an 18-month-old girl by placing weights atop her to make her sleep, throwing her into a wall, punching her and giving her cold baths. In April of 2013, the child was seen by a doctor who found bruising, cuts, abdominal organ damage and evidence of broken bones.
Also read to a judge were accounts of rape and molestation from three girls and a boy who were between the ages of seven and 11. The incidents occurred in 2012 and 2013.
Cruz-Rosario, wearing a green jumpsuit, a short beard and bulky glasses atop his head, needed an interpreter to communicate with the judge and his lawyer. Speaking softly, he did not dispute any of the prosecution’s accounts. He told the judge he had been treated for mental health issues in the past, and was currently on medication.
“This is one of the most heinous child abuse cases I’ve ever seen,” said Ramon Korionoff, Public Affairs Director for the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office.
While Cruz-Rosario was originally charged with 55 individual counts, the plea deal was significant because “holding a defendant accountable is the most important part of it,” said Korionoff. “We saved the children from being re-victimized and having to come to court on multiple occasions to testify
