Defendant Kailyn Bonia and her lawyer, James Caramanica, in Salem District Court on Friday. Photo by Paula Muller
By Thomas Grillo
SALEM — Two Saugus Snapchat assailants were sentenced to prison on Friday for the rape of a drunk and drugged 16-year-old girl behind a Saugus elementary school that was taped and shared on Snapchat.
Rashad Deihim, now 21, and Kailyn Bonia, now 20, each received 4- to 5-year sentences in Essex County Superior Court. Judge Kathe Tuttman also ordered three years probation for the pair that will include GPS monitoring, random drug testing, substance abuse evaluation and sex offender treatment.
In imposing the sentence, Tuttman described the crime as “egregious,” noting the victim attempted to resist the attack, but was restrained by her attackers.
Neither defendant showed any emotion when the sentencing was read. Deihim will serve the sentence at MCI-Cedar Junction in Walpole while Bonia will be housed at MCI-Framingham.
In July, a jury convicted Deihim of assault to rape, indecent assault and battery, kidnapping and posing a child in the nude. Jurors also found Bonia guilty of assault to rape, indecent assault and battery and kidnapping. Another teen recorded the incident and shared it on the popular messaging app.
Kate MacDougall, Essex County assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case, recommended a sentence of 5 to 7 years with probation.
“This was not a consensual act that spiraled out of control with drugs and alcohol,” she testified. “This was a targeted, vicious, sexual assault on a young woman.”
MacDougall acknowledged that the sentence she sought exceeded state guidelines. But she said the defendants failed to abide by the court’s rules after they were arrested.
“Both of them used substances while on release,” she said. “They just don’t get it.”
Deihim’s attorney, Stephen Neyman, sought two years in prison.
“My client has asked me to apologize to the victim, his family and the court on his behalf,” he said.
Bonia’s attorney, James Caramanica, sought 18 months. He read a statement from his client, that he called KK, which said “I take full responsibility and regret my actions.”
They each pleaded not guilty to the 2014 incident behind the Waybright Elementary School in Saugus in which another teen recorded the attack and shared it on Snapchat.
During the trial, the defendants did not testify or call any witnesses. Their lawyers argued that the girl in the video consented to the encounter and willingly drank vodka and took half of a Percocet earlier in the evening.
The Item does not name victims of sexual assault.
Timothy Cyckowski, 19, of Saugus, pleaded guilty in Lynn Juvenile Court earlier this year to taping the assault and sharing the videos on Snapchat. He was committed to the Department of Youth Services until he turns 20 and then must serve four years of probation.
His father, Matthew Cyckowski, 39, pleaded guilty to misleading a police investigation by destroying his son’s phone. He was sentenced to two years of probation.
Sydee Enos, now 18, the former best friend of the victim, received the Snapchat videos sent by Cyckowski and showed them to her mother, Michelle Enos. She testified that three videos were sent and she took screenshots of them.
Enos called Saugus police, who responded and found the victim half-dressed and incoherent.
