Summary:
- Cecily Aguilar sentenced to 30 years for her role in the murder of Vanessa Guillen.
- Guillen's disappearance and subsequent discovery of her remains led to calls for military reform.
- The Vanessa Guillen Act introduced new protocols for investigating sexual abuse cases in the military.
This morning, Cecily Aguilar sentenced to 30 years in prison. She pleaded guilty to one count of accessory to murder after the fact last year in the death of Army Specialist Vanessa Guillen.
Guillen was murdered on Fort Kovosso's military base, formerly known as Fort Hood. We're hoping that this sentencing will bring some sense of relief and some sense of justice to the Guillen family who's waited so long to have this moment, to have their time in court. Aguilar was indicted in 2021 for assisting her then boyfriend, Erin Robinson, on mutilating and helping conceal Guillen's body. Robinson died by suicide after being confronted by authorities in 2020. Vanessa's sister, Mayra, reacting to the sentencing.
There's relief today as to know that Cecily will finally be held accountable for her actions. Vanessa disappeared in April of 2020. Investigators spent more than two months searching before discovering her remains in a shallow grave 20 miles away from the base. It was later revealed that Vanessa had been a victim of sexual harassment while serving. Her story sparked calls for reform in the military to protect women and men from sexual harassment, eventually inspiring new laws to address the way the military handles criminal investigations. I just want to thank everyone for their full support and I'm happy to say that we can in a sense close this chapter. The Vanessa Guillen Act introduced new protocols for handling sexual abuse complaints, ensuring that cases of sexual assault and harassment are now investigated by independent prosecutors outside the military's chain of command.
Vanessa Guillen Act brings reform to military handling of abuse cases.