Man Who Attacked Prostitutes Sentenced

A Lake Los Angeles man was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years and eight months in prison for a series of assaults on prostitutes.

Raymond Kenneth Singer, 44, was convicted in November of sexual assault, kidnaping and false imprisonment stemming from the 1988 abductions of four prostitutes from South-Central Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley.

The crimes took place between May and October of 1988. Victims testified that Singer drove them against their will to remote canyon areas off the Antelope Valley Freeway near Agua Dulce and assaulted them.

The jury acquitted him on several charges, including allegations that he threatened the women with weapons.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Cynthia Ulfig asked Lancaster Superior Court Judge Margaret M. Grignon to impose the maximum sentence of 12 years and four months, citing probation and psychological reports that described Singer as dangerous to women and unrepentant.

Although Grignon said the severity of the crimes was an aggravating factor, the judge said she took into account Singer’s lack of a previous criminal record in imposing the mid-term sentence of 10 years and eight months, Ulfig said.

The defense submitted its own psychological profile describing Singer as a troubled man needing intensive psychotherapy rather than incarceration.