Man sentenced to 100 years in prison for raping 2 teenage girls

A man who was convicted of raping two 15-year-old girls near Los Angeles was sentenced to 100 years to life in prison.

While handing down the sentence, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Henry Hall denounced Joseph Kenneth Cornett, 42, as a “monster,” according to media reports. The judge also ordered Hall to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

A jury found Cornett guilty in March of 15 felony counts including kidnapping to commit rape and forcible rape of a child. During the four-week trial, prosecutors told jurors that in April 2015, Cornett offered a 15-year-old girl a ride but then blocked her from exiting the car.

Cornett then drove the girl to a remote area on the east side of Lancaster and sexually assaulted her two times, prosecutors said.

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Two weeks later, Cornett came upon another 15-year-old girl as she walked home from school. Posing as a police officer, he threatened to arrest her for jaywalking, prosecutors said.

Cornett then took the girl to an abandoned mobile classroom in Lancaster and sexually assaulted her, prosecutor Jon Hatami said. She managed to free herself and get help from parishioners at a church.

Before police reached the scene, Cornett attempted to drive away, but his car became stuck in the sand, authorities said.

As seven Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies tried to arrest Cornett, he became hostile and even spat on deputies, authorities said. He was eventually taken into custody.

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For more California news, follow me @MattHjourno. E-mail me at matt.hamilton@latimes.com