ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.,None — An Orange County man, who met a woman on a "sugar daddy" website and raped her in a vacant Dr. Phillips house was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday.
WFTV reporter Jamie Holmes was in court when Marcelo Alves failed to react to his sentencing. He never said a word, and his face never registered any emotion as prosecutors labeled him a man who would continue raping women until he killed one.
Alves never flinched. Even when prosecutors called him a predator, a serial rapist, and a monster, he just sat quietly.
"He is a monster that deserves to go away the rest of his life," the prosecutor said.
Alves' crime was as calculated as it was cold-hearted. Two years ago, he was chatting with a 22-year-old woman on "SugarDaddyForMe.com." He was using a fake name and photograph, and wanted to meet her.
The woman agreed. He lured her to a vacant house in the Dr. Philips area and waited for her to get out of the car.
"He was wearing a mask and had a knife in his hand and tackled her to the ground and he raped her," the prosecutor said.
Alves raped the victim four times and each would eventually become a count against him, prompting prosecutors to seek a life sentence.
Alves' victim was not in court Wednesday, but her words were in a letter that she wrote to the judge. The letter read: "Having to sit on the stand all day, and for God knows how long and God knows for how many hours, and have Mr. Barry stand up for this man while I have to sit in front of him and explain in detail to a bunch of strangers every little thing he did to me was absolutely heinous."
Alves' attorney argued there was only one actual rape, and charging him with several counts of sexual battery was double jeopardy. The judge didn't buy it, and he delivered the sentence of life in prison.
"Obviously, he's not happy about the situation and he has a lot of faith we can overcome this," defense attorney Buck Blankner said.
Blankner is already gearing up an appeal based on evidence presented during trial.
Alves is also a father of four children. His family was not in court Wednesday.