Former Denver school, church worker sentenced; alleged sex assault victim vows “I will continue to fight like hell”

A Denver judge has sentenced Diego Marroquin, a former worker at St. John’s school and church in southeast Denver, to four years of sex offender intensive supervised probation stemming from accusations by a teenage girl that Marroquin raped her at the church.

Marroquin, 38, pleaded guilty in January to a felony count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and to a misdemeanor assault charge.

He appeared in court on April 11, where he received the probationary sentence, which typically requires registration as a sex offender in Colorado and no contact with children.

Marroquin’s attorney, Marshall Breit, said his client did not speak at the sentencing hearing. However, the teen who accused him of rape did address the Judge. In 2022, the then 13-year-old girl said Marroquin raped her in a balcony overlooking the church.

Now 16, she says, “Diego took a piece of me… He took advantage of me. I am fighting for my life to prove Diego holds nothing on me. I am fighting to prove he is a nobody.”

In a statement, her parents said, “We could not be more proud of our strong and courageous daughter who stood up and faced her perpetrator by telling her story in court on Friday. Predators thrive on silence by threatening their victims. Society needs to courageously address this problem.”

Breit released a statement after the original publication of this article that said “The narrative that this family has publicly promoted is simply not accurate. The resolution reached in this matter is highly favorable to Mr. Marroquin and reflective of the actual evidence in this case.” He went on to say he is “deeply concerned by the continued dissemination of misinformation by the complaining witness’s family, especially if its purpose is for use in a civil lawsuit.”

Although the church and school previously called Marroquin a staff member in communications to parents, a St. John’s spokesperson contends Marroquin “had very little interaction with kids.”

The alleged victim is related to a former employee of CBS News Colorado.