TAUNTON, Mass. (WLNE) — The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office said that a Taunton man who was convicted of rape on Jan. 16 was sentenced to between six and 10 years in prison. 50-year-old Dino Balanca was convicted of rape and intimidation of a witness. Balanca was accused of raping his 27-year-old coworker on the night of Feb. 8 and Feb. 9, 2018. He had offered to driver her home from their job at the Sandbar Grill after he stopped for a drink at Bobby’s Pub. The victim had one drink, and was then offered another by Balanca after she went to the restroom, which she did not see poured. The victim then said the last thing she remembered was smoking a cigarette before calling her boyfriend at least an hour later, unsure of where she was and without her purse. When she was found by her boyfriend, the victim had a bleeding gash above her right eye, an injury to her leg and foot, and was disoriented. The attorney’s office said that through text messages the next morning, Balanca confirmed that he had the victim’s purse in his car which the victim retrieved with her boyfriend. He also told her that she had left the bar on her own the previous night. The victim then went to Morton Hospital where she was treated for her physical injuries and also had a sexual assault kit performed, which later revealed that male sperm cells were located on an internal swab that were a match Balanca’s DNA. The district attorney said that Balanca changed his story about what happened that night multiple times both during questioning and the trial. He first said the victim left on her own when he went to the restroom, and that he received the purse from the bartender, as she had left it, despite video surveillance showing the two getting into his car together. He then told police that he and the victim did get in his vehicle together, but he was not sure where he dropped her off as he did not recall. Then he told police he dropped her off at her home, before finally saying that they left the bar together and had consensual sex. Balanca was sentenced to serve six-to-10 years in prison followed by three years of probation. Categories: Massachusetts, News