A Lancaster man will spend up to 18½ years in Pennsylvania state prison after pleading guilty to raping a woman as she lay dying of a fentanyl overdose inside his home in August 2024. Rocky J. Feliciano Jr. recorded himself during the assault, and investigators say the footage became central evidence in a case that ended with his guilty plea on Oct. 22.
A judge sentenced Feliciano to serve between 6 and 18½ years in state prison, according to wgal.com. The outlet reported that the 34-year-old victim had ingested fentanyl before the rape, which caused her to overdose, and that Feliciano filmed himself in the act inside his home on Hamilton Street near North Marshall Street. Reports have listed Feliciano's age at 35, 36 and 40 at different points in the case.
The victim died at Feliciano's home on the 500 block of Hamilton Street in August 2024, as reported by Fox 28. First responders who arrived at the scene found her unresponsive and determined she was beyond life-saving measures. One account from LancasterOnline said police found the victim dead of cardiac arrest at the home, a detail that differs from the fentanyl-overdose description reported elsewhere.
Phone Evidence Undercut His Account
Feliciano initially claimed that he had consensual sex with the victim before she died, police said. But an analysis of his phone revealed three videos showing him raping her before her death, according to the same report. Investigators confronted Feliciano with their belief that the woman was already dying while he filmed, and he responded that he was not a medic and had no way of knowing whether someone was alive or dead.
Court filings describe a more damning account from Feliciano's own defense. His attorney told the court he was aware the victim had no ability to consent, and separately described the incident as incredibly sad and tragic, per officials cited in coverage of the case.
Sister Says He Could Have Called for Help
The victim's sister addressed the court directly, saying that instead of him pleasuring himself, he could have called for help. Her statement echoed the central question investigators raised with Feliciano himself: why he kept recording rather than seeking emergency aid for a woman who was unresponsive in his home.
The Lancaster County District Attorney's Office had earlier laid out some of that exchange between Feliciano and investigators in its own announcement that the case would proceed to county court, noting his insistence that he could not have known her condition. That filing, along with the subsequent guilty plea, led to Monday's sentencing hearing outcome of 6 to 18½ years behind bars.
What Pennsylvania Law Says
Under Pennsylvania law, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse is classified as a first-degree felony when the complainant is unconscious or when the person knows the complainant is unaware that sexual intercourse is occurring, according to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The statute also covers situations involving drugs, intoxicants or other means used without a complainant's knowledge that substantially impair their ability to appraise or control their own conduct. It further addresses forcible compulsion resulting in another person's death, whether that death occurs before, during or after sexual intercourse.
