Oxnard : Rapist of Girl, 14, Sentenced to 7 Years

An Oxnard man who pleaded guilty in the gang rape of a 14-year-old girl was sentenced to seven years in prison Thursday, two years fewer than a co-defendant who was sentenced last week.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Steven Z. Perren said the conduct of 18-year-old Carlos Tamayo, who was sentenced Thursday, was not as violent as that of Oscar Rivera, 23, who received the nine-year term Jan. 25.

Meanwhile, a third defendant in the case, Oscar Ponce, 29, said Thursday that he wanted to withdraw his guilty plea. He was granted a continuance until Feb. 28.

Tamayo’s probation report gives this account:

The victim, who lives in Oxnard, was at a pay phone late last Oct. 3 trying to get a ride when three men pulled up in a car.

The girl told investigators that she recognized Tamayo, whom she had met while both were at Juvenile Hall, and agreed to drink beer with him and his friends. Tamayo, who was with her in the back seat, started kissing the girl, and when she protested he told her he had a gun.

The three men drove to a field in Oxnard and raped the girl repeatedly, according to the probation report. The victim said that when she tried to flee, Rivera slammed her head against a metal tank, crushing several blood vessels in her nose, and threatened to kill her if she reported the assault.

After the three men abandoned her in the field, she flagged down a motorist, who took her to the Oxnard police station.

Tamayo’s attorney, William Maxwell, argued that his client’s involvement was not as serious as Rivera’s and that his record of petty theft, vandalism and drug arrests did not include any violent crimes.

“This comes out of the blue,” Maxwell said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Patrice Koenig, who argued for the maximum nine-year term, agreed that Tamayo was less culpable than Rivera but said Tamayo had “laughed through the preliminary hearing” and had lied to police and probation officers.

She added that Tamayo had a lengthy record in spite of his youth and had violated probation every time it had been granted.

The day of the attack, Tamayo had been released from the Ventura County Jail through a diversion program after being arrested a few days before on a charge of possessing a controlled substance.

Maxwell told the judge that Tamayo did not want to be sentenced to the California Youth Authority because CYA facilities have “too much gang activity.” Perren said that was a “legitimate concern,” but said an adult prison would be worse and sentenced Tamayo to the CYA.

Koenig said Tamayo would probably be eligible for parole in 3 1/2 years.