A Loudoun restaurant owner was sentenced to spend 14 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to taking indecent liberties with a child in his care.
Leopoldo Jacobo Lugo, 59, was sentenced July 11 by Loudoun Circuit Court Judge Douglas L. Fleming, Jr. He pleaded guilty to the charge in March.
Lugo, owner of El Sol Azteca in Ashburn and four restaurants in Richmond, was charged after investigators determined that he sexually abused a minor child over a course of several years, with at least one incident occurring while Lugo and the victim were living in Loudoun County. The case came to light after the female victim was interviewed in response to a complaint made to the Virginia Department of Social Services.
Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Gigi Lawless prosecuted the case and urged Fleming to go beyond the state’s guidelines when handing down his sentence. The Virginia Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a defendant’s criminal history and other factors, called only for probation in this case.
According to a statement issued by the Loudoun Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, Lawless said, “The defendant’s behavior is repulsive and disgusting and we as a society simply cannot tolerate it.”
“You have one role as a parent and that is to protect your child, and you sir failed,” Fleming said, before imposing a total active sentence of 14 months in the Virginia Department of Corrections, plus three years and eight months of suspended time. Upon his release, Lugo will be placed on five years of supervised probation. He also will be required to register as a sex offender.