CLEVELAND – A sex offender accused of killing two women more than 15 years ago and raping children pleaded guilty on Monday to hundreds of charges, crying when some of his surviving victims addressed him.
Elias Acevedo, 49, agreed to plead guilty to 297 counts, including murdering the women and kidnapping and raping children. He accepted a life prison term under the plea deal.
“I’m not a monster. I feel a lot of remorse,” Elias Acevedo said in the hushed courtroom as some of his child-rape victims, now adults, and relatives of the women watched, some wiping away tears. “I love you all, and God bless you.”
The two 20-years-to-life sentences for aggravated murder and sentences for other crimes total 445 years, the judge said.
The murder charges involve a Cleveland neighbour, Pamela Pemberton, who was killed in 1994, and 18-year-old Christina Adkins, who was pregnant when she disappeared in 1995.
Acevedo also was charged with rape and sexual assault involving attacks on minors, some dating back more than 25 years. He folded his cuffed handed together as Judge Michael Donnelly read the terms of the plea deal and explained it.
Acevedo’s case is the latest among a group of high-profile cases involving violence against women in and around Cleveland.
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