Man gets jail time for sexually assaulting Dexter High classmate

A 22-year-old man was sentenced to jail and probation for sexually assaulting his teenage classmate several years ago at a party.

Daniel Colon was sentenced to six months in jail and three years on probation as part of plea deal after being charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl when he was 17 years old. The case finally came to light years after the victim, who is now 19 years old, says she was raped at a party.

"It certainly goes to show that she was telling the truth and she needed help and she didn't get it from the people that were supposed to help her," said Karen Truszkowski.

Truszkowski represents the victim and her family in a case FOX 2 first told you about back in August involving a federal lawsuit filed against Dexter Community Schools and former high school counselor Craig Rafail. It's alleged the victim was raped two different times by two different suspects and told her counselor both times, but that Rafail never told her parents or the police.

"I know what I went through. It was terrifying and it was real and it's something that I told him about and he didn't do anything about it," the victim said.

It wasn't until the victim was a senior in high school that she finally broke down and told someone else what happened. In court Monday, Colon apologized for his behavior.

"I am just truly sorry that everything happened in the way that it happened. It was obviously seen different in my eyes than the victim's eyes, but it doesn't change the situation that truly went on," he said.

A statement from the victim read in court detailed how the sexual assault haunts her and her family and has derailed her life, but she says she forgives him.

"I would like to publicly forgive Mr. Colon for his actions. I feel that God has a path for everyone and soon he will be on a better path and journey in his life," she said.

"I'm very proud of her for doing that - that's not an easy thing to do and I hope that that young man takes that to heart," Truszkowski said.

The victim's family says the other suspect in the other rape may never be charged because he was a minor when it happened and is now an adult, with no court having jurisdiction over the case. As for that case against the school and the counselor, that remains in litigation.