Laborer Pleads Guilty in Assault on Woman Who Gave Him Job

A Sylmar man pleaded guilty Wednesday to sexually assaulting a 60-year-old woman who hired him to work at her home through a state employment program.

The man, David Peter Madsen, 29, faces up to 16 years in state prison following his plea to charges of forcible rape and oral copulation, Deputy Dist. Atty. Myron L. Jenkins said. Madsen was on parole on a previous rape conviction when the assault occurred June 10, Jenkins said.

Madsen was hired by the woman through a day-labor program run by the state Employment Development Department.

Esther Greene, chief deputy for the department in Sacramento, said day-labor applicants are not screened for criminal records.

Residents who hire day laborers through the state should be cautious, Greene said. “I would be very hesitant about taking someone from this pool into my home,” she said.

The victim testified during the preliminary hearing that Madsen worked at her house for about two hours before he put a knife to her throat and forced her to perform sex acts.

The guilty plea, which included an admission of the use of a knife, came as San Fernando Superior Court Judge John H. Major was preparing to set a trial date on the case, Jenkins said.

Sentencing was scheduled for Sept. 24.