‘You will suffer for the rest of your life’: Naugatuck man gets 15 years for minor abuse

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By Andreas Yilma Citizen’s News

WATERBURY — Four years after confiding to her high school counselor about the sexual abuse she endured by her stepfather, the now 19-year-old victim finally confronted him.

The victim, who only went by her initials in Waterbury Superior Court last week, spoke about the abuse she endured and her struggles to reclaim her life after reporting him to a counselor in 2018.

Oscar Roggero, 46, of Naugatuck, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, suspended after eight years on Sept. 6 as part of a plea deal reached between prosecutors and Roggero’s attorney, James Hardy. He will also have 10 years of probation.

Roggero pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor.

Standing at the prosecutor’s table at Waterbury Superior Court on Sept. 6, the young victim spoke quietly as she read from a two-page handwritten statement.

“You led me to believe that I was insane, when I was not. You led me to believe that your behavior was normal, when it was not. From this day on, I will not suffer anymore. I will live the rest of my life with happiness,” the victim said.

“As for you, you will suffer. You will suffer for the rest of your life. Every single day when you wake up, you will think of me. And when you think of me, you will remember all day the things you did to hurt me,” she added.

Oscar Roggero. Contributed

Judge Joseph Schwartz said following the victim impact statement that everyone in the courtroom was amazed by her statements.

“Words cannot describe what her childhood was like based on the actions of this individual,” Waterbury State’s Attorney Maureen T. Platt told Schwartz.

In addition to the prison sentence, Schwartz ordered a lifetime sex offender registration, no unsupervised contact with minors, no dating or socializing with anyone with minor children without prior approval.

“The reason for the sentence being so long was for the severity of the charges,” Schwartz said.

On Aug. 29, 2018, the victim told Naugatuck detectives she woke up around midnight the day before to use the bathroom and noticed baby oil around her underwear and suspected Roggero.

Some time before, the victim said Roggero raped her when her mother wasn’t home.

Later that morning, the victim told her mother, who said she saw Roggero in her room during the night. The mother woke up her husband, who denied doing anything. Going forward, the mother told the victim to sleep with her back against the wall and tuck the covers under her body, according to the warrant, which was released by the court clerk’s office on Monday.

The mother later denied knowing anything about the allegations about Roggero and Naugatuck detectives noted she was emotionless when told about them, according to the warrant.

The victim also described other bizarre incidents with Roggero, one where he walked into the bathroom while the victim was showering to smell her underwear.

He also verbally abused the victim, calling her names and commenting how she was dressed.

When interviewed by police, Roggero denied anything appropriate.

Since reporting the incident, the victim graduated from high school and she recently started her sophomore year in college with a high grade point average.

Despite her academic success, she told the judge she suffers from multiple psychological disorders, clinical depression and body dysmorphia, which causes her to have an unhealthy obsession with her appearance.