Rutherford County, TN – The Tennessee Supreme Court has closed-out any chances of an appeal for a man who was convicted of aggravated rape in Rutherford County in 2021. The Supreme Courts decision was released on Monday, March 11, 2024. Marco Luciano Cianfarani, who was also convicted on three counts of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, claimed in an appeal that evidence was insufficient to support his aggravated rape and aggravated assault convictions. He also contended the trial court erred in permitting the testimony of a witness who the defense received late notice from.
The female victim told the courts she dated the defendant for approximately five months and the rape occurred when she went to his residence to retrieve her belongings. She testified Cianfarani slammed her to the ground, choked her and then lifted her to the bed, which was when the rape occurred. She also recalled telling the 28-year-old to stop and stated, “I do not want this.” According to court documents, the defendant stopped after about 10-seconds.
At trial, the Defendant claimed he did indeed commit domestic assault, but did not rape the victim. Jurors believed otherwise and convicted him accordingly. However, Cianfarani's appeal shows he believes the trial court mistakenly instructed jurors to continue deliberating after being notified one juror disagreed with the other eleven.
When digging deeper into Cianfarani's case, it was confirmed that he was convicted on a total of five counts of aggravated assault and one count of aggravated rape from incidents that occurred in both 2018 and 2019. He has a total combined sentence to serve that adds up to 27-years. His sentence will officially end in January of 2045. Upon his release, he will be 7-months shy of turning 50. Years prior, the 28-year-old was also convicted on charges of domestic violence and tampering with evidence. He was also found guilty of assault with bodily injury in 2015.
A previous appeal filed with the Tennessee Appellate Courts in Nashville was also turned down. That previous filing was stopped from moving forward on October 6, 2023, according to the Appellate Court Clerk.
