For Immediate Release: April 24, 2008                              
Contact: Corey Welford/Jessica Venezia 781-897-8325
 

Somerville Man Sentenced To Ten Years In State Prison In Connection With New Year’s Rape In Cambridge

WOBURN – Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone’s office informed the public that a Somerville man was sentenced to State Prison today after being found guilty of aggravated rape and other charges in connection with his assault of a man in Cambridge on New Year’s Day in 2007.

Zelalem Mezgebu, 22, was sentenced today to 10 years to 10 years and one day in State Prison followed by 5 years probation by Middlesex Superior Court Judge Wendie Gershengorn.  On April 14, Mezgebu was found guilty by a Middlesex Superior Court jury on two counts of aggravated rape, one count of indecent assault and battery and one count of armed robbery

“This defendant sought out a smaller, weaker, complete stranger to violently assault and rob at knife-point,” District Attorney Leone said. “The victim has our utmost respect for standing up and testifying against his attacker and today’s sentence reflects the extreme violence of the assault that he suffered. We also want to commend the three employees of the Phoenix Landing Restaurant who came to the aid of a stranger and held the defendant at bay until Cambridge Police arrived.”

According to authorities, on January 1, 2007, after celebrating New Year’s Eve with friends in Cambridge, the victim went to an ATM to get money for a cab ride home.  While at the ATM, the defendant backed the victim against a wall and forced him down a back alley at knife point.  The defendant then forced the victim to remove his pants and raped the victim multiple times.  The defendant also brutally beat and kicked the victim and demanded his money.  While this attack was in progress, three employees from the Phoenix Landing Restaurant and Bar (which borders the alley) heard the victim’s piercing screams for help.  They ran into the alley and observed the bloodied victim on the ground and the defendant against the wall with blood on his crotch area.  The employees held the defendant in the alley until the Cambridge Police arrived.  An investigation was conducted by the Cambridge Police Department and the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.

Mezgebu was indicted by a Middlesex County Grand Jury on January 18, 2007 and was arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court on February 1, 2007.

The prosecutor assigned to this case was Assistant District Attorney Melinda Thompson and the Victim Witness Advocate was Anne Foley.

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