🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <20001010210955.24287.00000007@ng-fl1.aol.com>,
  jsbassior@aol.com (Jordan S. Bassior) wrote:

Mexicans are taking over North America otherwise known as �ethnic
cleansing�.

http://www.aztlan.net/  �Viva La Raza!�

Wednesday, October 18, 2000 |  Print this story


RAPIST SENTENCED TO 101 YEARS AFTER VICTIMS TESTIFY
 Girls, their families speak emotionally of the shattering effects of
Steven Morales' 1998 crime spree. Despite a statement, his motives
remain a mystery.

By RICHARD MAROSI, Times Staff Writer

    A notorious serial rapist was confronted by his young victims
Tuesday in a tense, tearful court hearing that ended with a judge
handing down one of the most severe sentences ever for someone pleading
guilty to such crimes: 101 years in prison.
     Steven Morales, who terrorized Orange County in 1998 with seven
sexual attacks on women and girls as young as 13, sat silently as
victims and their families looked him in the eyes and lashed out.
     "Look at me," yelled one sobbing teenage girl, slamming her fist
on the lectern. "How can you sit in this courtroom with all these
wounded souls and say you're sorry and expect it to be all OK? I will
fear people for the rest of my life."
     Morales, a 33-year-old former construction worker, turned to face
his victims from his chair but showed little emotion.
     Another teenage victim told Morales how her family was shattered
forever the night he leaped at her from behind her bedroom door and
assaulted her. "It wasn't just the people who were attacked. It's your
wife. It's your two kids. It's every one of the girls' families. It's
their friends," she said.
     Morales attacked mostly teenage girls during an eight-month crime
spree in several upscale Orange County neighborhoods, many along the
coast. Some girls were kidnapped off the streets at gunpoint. Others he
attacked after sneaking into their homes. After raping one Seal Beach
victim, he called a couple of times to torment her and warn her not to
tell authorities.
     Police cracked the case after learning that Morales had received a
parking ticket near the home of one of his victims. Two Huntington
Beach sisters later identified Morales from a series of photographs,
and Morales was arrested in July 1999. DNA evidence was also used to
link him to the crimes.
     Morales pleaded guilty last week. Under the sentence handed down
Tuesday by Superior Court Judge Francisco P. Briseno, he will be
eligible for parole when he is 118. Officials said the sentence is
unusual given the fact that he pleaded guilty; rapists in the past
typically have received long sentences and been denied parole only
after long, contentious trials.
     Police and victims remain baffled by Morales' motives. Morales,
the father of two children, provided no insight into his behavior
during a brief statement he read in court.
     "You may wonder, why you," he said, addressing the victims. The
crimes, he said, "were no more planned than my wanting my wife, our
children, families and friends to feel pain."
     In a clear, loud voice, Morales continued: "Explaining this
tragedy is never going to be easy, and--for lack of a better word--
unfortunately, tragedies similar to this happen to many people all over
the world."
     Morales' statements enraged one victim's father. "Face me!" he
screamed to Morales, who turned toward him without hesitation. "When
you're put in your cell at night . . . you'll sit and wonder that [your
daughter] doesn't run into [someone] like you. Rot in hell."
     One girl was amazed that Morales is himself a father: "You have a
daughter. How could you do that? . . . You make me sick," she said.
     The rare chance to confront their attacker seemed cathartic for
the three girls who chose to testify. One had to stop after being
overcome with emotion. And the sobs and sniffles of other victims and
family members in the crowded courtroom were unceasing. Even a bailiff
had to wipe away tears.
     One girl confessed that she could no longer sleep alone in her
room at night and that she had never told her father of the ordeal. A
family told of how they had to relocate after their daughters became
the target of taunts from neighborhood children.
     Though mostly appearing unmoved, Morales at one point seemed on
the verge of breaking down. One girl he had attacked told him that it
had inspired her to help other rape victims. She pleaded with him to do
the best he could for others.
     "I forgive you, and I want you to forgive yourself," she said,
crying. "Help make this world a better place."



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