Strasburg man dodges jury after evidence presented
After the commonwealth presented evidence against him, a Strasburg man chose to accept a plea deal rather than trust a jury with his guilt or innocence in a child sexual solicitation case in Rappahannock County Circuit Court last Friday.
Sanjay Naguiat Sugay, 41, stood accused of three charges related to the solicitation of a minor online after an undercover operation, carried out by Rappahannock Detective Chris Garcia and the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, led to his arrest for attempting to solicit a 14-year-old girl.
Sugay engaged in June with the profile of a teenage girl — which was managed by Garcia — on the social media platform Whisper. According to the commonwealth’s evidence, Sugay exchanged days’ worth of inappropriate, sexual messages — which were provided to each juror in a 37-page packet, complete with a glossary of texting shorthand — before agreeing to meet with the girl at the Rappahannock County Park in Washington.
Garcia testified Friday that “age-regressed photos,” photographs that were electronically altered to make the adult subject look like a younger teen, were sent to Sugay. Garcia said that on multiple occasions he sent messages explicitly identifying himself as a 14-year-old girl, and Sugay continued to interact with the profile.
During opening statements, Commonwealth’s Attorney Art Goff said Sugay “directly and indirectly proposed sex before and after” he was told the age of the teen. He said Sugay traveled an hour and a half to meet the girl and stopped along the way to buy contraceptives at Walmart in Front Royal.
“The evidence is total and complete,” Goff said.
Sugay’s defense attorneys Howard Manheimer and Jason Ransom argued during opening statements that Sugay continued to engage with the profile after the age was disclosed because he wanted to “figure out” how old the person was, and that the photos he was sent “didn’t all look the same age.’
Manheimer said Sugay insisted on a video call, and after he saw the woman on the video, he “was convinced the person he was talking to was not a child.”
“Was he being trolled? He didn’t know…The more information he gathered, the less he believed he was talking with a 14 year old,” Manheimer told the jury. “No efforts were made to go out and meet her before that … the issue here is whether he believed he was chatting with a 14 year old. All of his actions will tell you otherwise.”
According to Garcia, Sugay made several comments during text conversations voicing concern that the girl was “a trap” and that he was “not trying to catch a case.”
When Sugay traveled to Rappahannock County, he was met at the park by Garcia and his team who positively identified him as their suspect and took him into custody.
After the lunch break and an additional hour of recess, Goff, Manheimer and Ransom returned to the courtroom to speak to Judge James Fisher, informing him that a plea deal was agreed upon. The jury was dismissed shortly after 3 p.m.
Sugay pleaded no contest, meaning he accepted conviction but did not admit guilt or innocence to one of the three charges brought against him — use of a communication system to solicit a minor under the age of 15. Two other charges were not prosecuted at this time. Judge Fisher found him guilty of the one charge, and accepted the plea agreement.
If the plea deal is formally accepted at sentencing, Sugay will serve five years in prison, with an additional five years suspended. Sugay will be sentenced on April 17.
Ireland Hayes is a reporter for Foothills Forum, a nonprofit organization that supports local news in Rappahannock County.
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