According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a Palo Alto man who managed cleaning duties at a hospital was found guilty in 2021 of sexually assaulting a subordinate and lying to investigators about it.
Federal prosecutors stated in a statement Monday that 42-year-old Onofre Salas-Lozano was convicted on January 31, 2025, of severe sexual assault, sexual abuse by terror, and providing false statements to a federal agent.
Prosecutors claim that Salas-Lozano was a night supervisor for the cleaning services contractor that maintained the cleanliness of the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Hospital. Salas-Lozano coerced his victim into having sex late at night in a patient examination room in July 2021.
In a DOJ press release regarding the case, prosecutors stated that “the victim suffered traumatic tissue injury during the assault, and DNA analysis confirmed the presence of Salas-Lozano’s sperm in the victim’s underwear.”
Salas-Lozano was the victim’s immediate supervisor at the time of the assault.
In a follow-up investigation interview, the jury also concluded that Salas-Lozano had lied to a VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) special agent when he denied having sex with the victim that night or at any other time.
Prosecutors claim that during the trial, Salas-Lozano denied making a false statement and testified that he had had consensual sex with the victim at another time.
Salas-Lozano faces a possible sentence of eight years in prison for making materially false statements during a federal inquiry, and a maximum punishment of life in federal prison for each count of aggravated sexual assault and sexual abuse by terror.
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