A man whom prosecutors called a habitual criminal has been indicted after authorities said he repeatedly beat, burned, and shot a 10-year-old boy and fondled a 14-year-old girl.
Rosario “Roy” Diraffaele, 38, is charged with two counts of lewdness with a child under 14, one count of open or gross lewdness in the presence of a child, and four counts of child abuse.
Diraffaele, who was indicted in May, is being held on $100,000 bail. His public defender could not be immediately reached for comment.
Chief District Judge Jerry Wiese also ordered additional release conditions, including high-level electronic monitoring and a ban on contact with the victims, court records show.
Diraffaele was arrested after police were called to an apartment in the central Las Vegas Valley last year for a welfare check. A woman had reported concerning behavior the children had told her about.
When officers arrived at the home, the younger victim, then 9, told police that Diraffaele made him perform prolonged exercises, such as wall squats, as a form of discipline.
When the boy did not complete the exercises to Diraffaele’s satisfaction, the man punished him further, sometimes burning the boy with cigarettes or stabbing him with a fork, Metropolitan Police Department officer Aaron Jacques told a grand jury.
On other occasions, witnesses said, Diraffaele shot the boy with a BB gun.
“He disclosed one incident where (Diraffaele) believed that (the boy) had drawn on his printer,” said Matt Theriault, who also interviewed the boy. “(Diraffaele) shot him with a pellet gun twice and then told him not to say anything.”
The other child stated that Diraffaele inappropriately touched her when she was 11 and 12 years old. She also said that Diraffaele, while watching pornography, had masturbated over his pants in front of her.
The alleged acts spanned from July 2023 until June 2025, according to court records.
Diraffaele was convicted of possessing false identification in 2020 and grand larceny in 2018. In 2012, he was sentenced to one to five years in the Nevada Department of Corrections for additional theft charges.
Las Vegas Justice Court records show that Diraffaele’s criminal history dates back to 2006, when he was arrested on a charge of possession of a stolen vehicle.
Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.
