Jail House Lawyer Guilty of Rape, Faces More Charges

L. Donald Rhoden, a jail house lawyer who complained that physical and verbal abuse he suffered at the Orange County Jail hindered his trial preparations, was convicted Friday of raping a 17-year-old Anaheim girl four years ago.

Rhoden, at his own request, was immediately sentenced to 17 years in prison.

But Rhoden’s legal problems could get worse.

He is now scheduled to go on trial in Los Angeles County on charges of raping two 14-year-old girls in separate incidents. Rhoden, 38, is serving a 40-year sentence for rape in Tennessee.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Gregg L. Prickett said the California convictions are important because the 17 years from Orange County and whatever sentence Rhoden may receive in Los Angeles County must be served after his 40-year Tennessee sentence.

Charges of Harassment

Rhoden is one of several inmates at the Orange County Jail who recently complained to the county’s jail consultant, Lawrence Grossman, about physical and verbal abuse at the jail. Grossman is preparing a jail report for the county supervisors.

Rhoden claims that July 13, 1987, he was attacked by several deputies after he refused to submit to a detailed strip search. Rhoden added that he had been verbally harassed by jail deputies since then.

“These deputies, through their verbal and physical abuse, are having a significant chilling effect on my participation in the meaningful preparation of my defense,” Rhoden wrote in his letter to county officials.’

Rhoden ended up with a trial lawyer, but he had pro per privileges at the jail as his own counsel.

Rhoden was extradited to California after his December, 1985, conviction in Tennessee. One of the three California victims had seen his picture in a newspaper when he was a suspect in a landscape scheme and notified police. Charges against Rhoden in that scheme are still pending in Orange County.

Identified in Lineup

All three California victims identified him at a lineup and in the courtroom. Superior Court Judge Mason L. Fenton in Fullerton permitted the two Los Angeles County girls to testify at Rhoden’s trial over defense objections.

While Rhoden did not testify, he claimed a defense of consent.

The Anaheim girl testified that four years ago Rhoden approached her as she walked along a sidewalk and asked her if she would like to do some professional modeling.

“Both in the Orange County case and in one of the two Los Angeles cases, Rhoden was accompanied by a woman in his car,” Prickett said.

The Anaheim girl testified that she got into the car and that Rhoden drove to a secluded spot and raped her in the car while the woman served as a lookout.

The woman has never been identified, Prickett said.