Chatsworth Man Gets 18 Years in Sex Assault
A 28-year-old Chatsworth man was sentenced to 18 years in prison on four sexual-assault counts after his victim told the court that the incident has caused her to fear anyone who knocks on her door.
“I find it very difficult to trust anyone,” the 27-year-old Reseda woman told the court. “My life is just very stressful at this point.”
Van Nuys Superior Court Judge James Albracht sentenced Terrence Lee Shauger, an unemployed construction worker, who had pleaded guilty Aug. 20 to one count of sodomy, two counts of forcible rape and one count of oral copulation. He also admitted that he used a knife while committing the crime.
According to a probation report prepared to help the judge in sentencing, Shauger, who knew the victim through their Van Nuys church, forced his way into her home in May and attacked her while her two sons were asleep in another room.
Calling the crime “horrendous” and “inhuman,” Albracht said his duty is “to see that Mr. Shauger is not allowed to move freely in our society for a long period of time.”
Shauger will be eligible for parole after serving half of his term.
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