Hyattsville Man Sentenced for Silver Spring Rape

A Hyattsville man already serving a life sentence for abduction received more jail time last week after being convicted in a 2007 rape in Silver Spring.

Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Ronald B. Rubin sentenced Morales-Iraheta to life in prison plus 70 years after he was convicted of the rape, according to a statement from the Montgomery County State Attorney’s Office.

Morales-Iraheta, 35, assaulted the woman about 10:30 p.m. on July 4, 2007,  near the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue and Parham Road, according to court documents. Dragging her by the hair to a dark bushy area in front of a home, he threw her to the ground and tied his shirt around her face before punching, stripping and raping her. The woman was able to escape and run to her home, where her son called 911.

Police matched DNA from the crime with DNA taken from Morales-Iraheta from another rape for which he had been arrested. In February 2009, Morales-Iraheta was deported to El Salvador for that crime. He returned to the U.S. illegally.

After running a red light, Morales-Iraheta was arrested again in 2011 in Prince George’s County and charged with abduction. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for sneaking into a parked car at a College Park gas station and threatening the driver with his hands around her neck.