Norfolk man kidnaps, rapes teenager from his neighborhood; sentenced to 30 years

A Norfolk man who kidnapped and raped a teenager from his neighborhood last year was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison.

Jose Vazquez-Velazquez III, 50, pleaded guilty on Oct. 10 to rape, forcible sodomy, object sexual penetration and taking indecent liberties with a child. Judge Robert B. Rigney accepted Vazquez-Velazquez’ plea agreement with a maximum active sentence of 35 years.

On Friday, Judge Joseph C. Lindsey sentenced Vazquez-Velazquez and suspended another 90 years on the conditions that Vazquez-Velazquez be on supervised probation following his release, have no contact with the victim and have no unsupervised contact with minors.

According to court records, on June 6, 2023, the victim’s mother contacted Norfolk Police to report that her daughter had been kidnapped and raped. The victim was familiar with Vazquez-Velazquez from the neighborhood and told her mother where she was located.

Norfolk Police special crimes detectives responded to Vazquez-Velazquez’ house on the 300 block of Olney Road, and he told detectives he was home alone. When officers circled the block, they encountered the victim walking down the street. The victim told officers she had been inside Vazquez-Velazquez’ residence and was forced out of the house after detectives knocked on the door.

The victim and her mother were transported to the Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters, and the victim underwent a sexual assault nurse examination. Testing of the victim’s physical evidence recovery kit later revealed the presence of Vazquez-Velazquez’ DNA.