Cobb Man Gets Life In Prison For Raping Marietta Girl

SOUTH COBB, GA. -- A Cobb County man has been sentenced to life in prison for the repeated rape of a little girl, Cobb County District Attorney Vic Reynolds announced Tuesday.

A Cobb jury convicted Mario Esteban Sanchez, 58, of raping the girl in a series of attacks that began when she was 5 years old. The episodes happened in Sanchez’s Franklin Road apartment in Marietta. SIGN UP: To get notified of more local news like this, click here to sign up for the Marietta Patch. Or find your Atlanta-area town here. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.

“This Defendant is guilty of horrible, deviant behavior,” Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Chuck Boring, who prosecuted the case, said in a news release. “A man who commits such atrocious acts against a child has forfeited his right to live in free society.”

Girl Endured Years Of Rape In Cobb Apartment: DA

Sanchez, who was related to the girl by marriage, was also convicted of two counts of molestation, the DA's Office said.

Judge Henry Thompson said that the egregious details in the case called for the maximum sentence.

“I cannot wrap my mind around the concept of a grown man wanting to have sex with a 5-year-old girl,” Thompson said. “To pick your gratification over the damage being done to that little girl is inhumane, heartless … beyond that, it is soulless. Ideally, you’ve lived your last free day.”

Marietta attorney Michael Edmunds represented Sanchez, who has been in jail since being arrested in 2015.

Read more: Man Accused Of Sexually Abusing 12-Year-Old Girl In Kennesaw: ICYMI

Image via Cobb Sheriff's Office