On Tuesday, Montgomery County Judge Bobby Turk sentenced Arlex Cardenas-Flores, 34, to two years in prison for kidnapping a female graduate student on the campus of Virginia Tech University last year.
The Honduran national was found guilty of felony abduction in June.
During his sentencing, Cardenas-Flores showed no remorse for his actions. At one point, through an interpreter, he stated:
“She knows and the other person there knows,” he said. “The only thing I feel guilty of is having gone to that place that night.”
On June 29, 2012, Cardenas-Flores grabbed the victim, Shannon Sweeney, forcing her into a pickup truck. Fortunately, she was able to escape her attacker.
WDBJ reported:
The driver of the pickup truck, Felix Ramirez Miranda, exited the truck and pulled Cardenas-Flores off of Ms. Sweeney, who ran screaming.
Ms. Sweeney suffered only minor scrapes. Another eye witness came to her aid and called police.
Despite his illegal status, Cardenas-Flores was hired to work on a construction job at Va. Tech's Shultz Dining Hall.
At sentencing, Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Patrick Jensen told the court that the harrowing incident has changed Sweeney's life and that going out in public now fills her with anxiety.
The fact that the Virginia Tech campus is located 2,000 miles from the U.S./Mexican border, further demonstrates that the crimes associated with illegal immigration are now a national problem.
