Man Sentenced in Rape, Robbery

A 22-year-old Van Nuys man who raped a woman at knifepoint in front of her 6-year-old son and later attempted to kidnap a convenience store clerk was sentenced Wednesday to 24 years in prison.

Mike Morris pleaded guilty on Nov. 20 to three counts of rape and one count each of forcible oral copulation, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, kidnaping and robbery in exchange for the 24-year sentence. He could have received nearly double that sentence if convicted on all the charges, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Kenneth A. Loveman. Morris ordered the 20-year-old victim to bring her son into the room before raping her twice and forcing her to orally copulate him in Van Nuys on July 26, 1987. He raped her again outside the boy’s presence.

The next day, Morris went into a 7-Eleven store on Victory Boulevard in Van Nuys and robbed it of a small amount of cash. He forced clerk Rose Romero, 32, of North Hollywood, into the parking lot by pretending to hold a gun to her back, Loveman said.

Romero pretended to faint, attracting the attention of passers-by, and Morris fled. He was later identified by Romero and another clerk and by the rape victim.