A Fitchburg man faces nearly 40 years in jail on charges that he attempted to sexually assault a hearing-impaired Poynette woman.
Juan P. Hernandez, 37, Fitchburg, is being held in Columbia County Jail on a felony charge of attempted second-degree sexual assault, felony false imprisonment and misdemeanor disorderly conduct. Because it is believed Hernandez committed the crimes, in whole or in part, because of the victim’s disability, the charges also carry a hate crime modifier.
According to court records, Hernandez is being held on a $7,500 cash bond after a Friday, Sept. 4 initial appearance in Columbia County Circuit Court. He faces more than 38 years in jail and $81,000 in fines with the charges.
According to reports, Poynette Police were dispatched to Linderwell Court in the village of Poynette at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 1 regarding an assault.
In the criminal complaint, the victim told police she noticed a DirecTV truck parked in the neighbor's driveway. She stated she thought it was unusual because she thought all cable or Internet companies were required to park on the street.
According to the complaint, later on the victim’s doorbell rang and a DirecTV representative, later identified as Hernandez, was at the door with a DirecTV flyer. Poynette Police Sgt. Eric Fisher said Hernandez was working as a subcontractor with DirecTV installing cable at a neighbor's residence at the time of the incident.
According to the complaint, while inside the victim’s home discussing switching to DirecTV, Hernandez began asking the victim personal questions about her children and asked if she was single. The victim told police she was scared and asked Hernandez several times to leave her residence but he didn’t.
According to the complaint, the victim was yelling to a neighbor from the front door when Hernandez allegedly grabbed her wrists and pinned her against the wall. The victim stated Hernandez put his lips on her body and held her tight. The victim pushed Hernandez away, opened the door and yelled for help. At that point, Hernandez fled.
Sgt. Fisher said by working with DirecTV, law enforcement learned of the location of Hernandez’s next appointment. He was taken into custody by the Columbia County Sheriff’s Department en route to his next appointment and transported to the Poynette Police station for questioning.
During questioning, Hernandez admitted to being at that location and stated he knew from his contact with the victim “that she was deaf”, according to the complaint.
