Man, 21, Sentenced for Attack on Great-Aunt

A 21-year-old Pacoima man was sentenced to four years in state prison Tuesday for attempting to rape his 73-year-old great-aunt three weeks after he was paroled from prison for another attempted rape.

San Fernando Superior Court Judge John H. Major also ordered Michael Custer to complete three years of parole after his release. The judge recommended that Custer undergo extensive therapy while in custody.

Custer pleaded guilty last month to assault with intent to commit rape for the Feb. 6 attack in his great-aunt’s Pacoima home. According to a probation report, the victim told officials that it was the second attack by her grandnephew in as many weeks, but that she had not wanted to file charges after the first incident.

The report said Custer was on parole after serving half of a four-year term for the attempted rape of a 14-year-old Burbank girl in 1982.

The report said Custer himself was sexually abused by two elderly men as a child. “No doubt, there is something deeply wrong with this defendant in the sexual area,” the report concluded.

Custer thanked the judge after the sentence was read, saying he had “really been trying as hard as I can to get over this problem . . . I really appreciate your taking the time to help me.”