From:
Alvin G. Weger, Assistant District Attorney CONTACT PERSON:
Ben Field, Deputy District Attorney
Sexual Assault Unit
(408) 792-2593 For Release on March 18, 2003 SERIAL RAPIST PLEADED GUILTY DURING TRIAL On March 18, 2003, Hector Sanchez pleaded guilty as charged to sexually assaulting four women in Santa Clara County. He will be sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. (Sanchez, 40, will serve at least four consecutive life sentences with eligibility for parole after a minimum of 75 years.) Sanchez entered his plea after the prosecution’s opening statement, but before witness testimony. The case involved sexual assaults in Gilroy, Morgan Hill, and San Jose during December 2001 and January 2002. On December 9, 2001, Sanchez abducted a 42-year-old Gilroy woman, drove her to a secluded area, threatened her with a knife, and attempted to sexually assault her there. She struggled with the defendant, escaped from the car, and called the police. On December 11, 2001, Sanchez attacked a 48-year-old San Jose woman in her home as she was returning from the grocery store. He threatened her with a knife, and then raped and robbed her. He disabled her phone before leaving. On December 22, 2001, Sanchez attacked a 46-year-old woman in her San Jose office, where she was working alone that Saturday morning. He knocked her to the floor, groped her, and attempted to drag her into an empty back office. She managed to escape by entering the office ahead of Sanchez, locking the door, and calling the police. On January 8, 2002, Sanchez attacked a 68-year-old woman at her home in Morgan Hill. After getting the victim to open the door, he threatened her with a knife and forced her into her bedroom, where he blindfolded and raped her. He then robbed her and tied her up before leaving in her van. Sanchez is also charged with sexually assaulting a woman in Capitola. Those charges are still pending. Sanchez will be sentenced on the Santa Clara County case on May 6, 2003 at 8:20 in Department 26 of the Superior Court.
Alvin G. Weger, Assistant District Attorney CONTACT PERSON:
Ben Field, Deputy District Attorney
Sexual Assault Unit
(408) 792-2593 For Release on March 18, 2003 SERIAL RAPIST PLEADED GUILTY DURING TRIAL On March 18, 2003, Hector Sanchez pleaded guilty as charged to sexually assaulting four women in Santa Clara County. He will be sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. (Sanchez, 40, will serve at least four consecutive life sentences with eligibility for parole after a minimum of 75 years.) Sanchez entered his plea after the prosecution’s opening statement, but before witness testimony. The case involved sexual assaults in Gilroy, Morgan Hill, and San Jose during December 2001 and January 2002. On December 9, 2001, Sanchez abducted a 42-year-old Gilroy woman, drove her to a secluded area, threatened her with a knife, and attempted to sexually assault her there. She struggled with the defendant, escaped from the car, and called the police. On December 11, 2001, Sanchez attacked a 48-year-old San Jose woman in her home as she was returning from the grocery store. He threatened her with a knife, and then raped and robbed her. He disabled her phone before leaving. On December 22, 2001, Sanchez attacked a 46-year-old woman in her San Jose office, where she was working alone that Saturday morning. He knocked her to the floor, groped her, and attempted to drag her into an empty back office. She managed to escape by entering the office ahead of Sanchez, locking the door, and calling the police. On January 8, 2002, Sanchez attacked a 68-year-old woman at her home in Morgan Hill. After getting the victim to open the door, he threatened her with a knife and forced her into her bedroom, where he blindfolded and raped her. He then robbed her and tied her up before leaving in her van. Sanchez is also charged with sexually assaulting a woman in Capitola. Those charges are still pending. Sanchez will be sentenced on the Santa Clara County case on May 6, 2003 at 8:20 in Department 26 of the Superior Court.