Man, 70, Sentenced to 3 Years for Rape : Crime: Bell Canyon resident was convicted last year in the attack on a housekeeper, 30.

A 70-year-old Bell Canyon man was sentenced Friday to three years in prison for the rape of a 30-year-old illegal alien he had hired to clean his house.

Thomas Savas sobbed repeatedly during the hourlong sentencing hearing as he was described as a devoted family man, then as a remorseless sex offender who preyed on a defenseless woman.

Savas was convicted of rape and sexual battery Aug. 9 in Ventura County Superior Court. The prosecutor, Deputy Dist. Atty. Mary C. Peace, said Savas is the oldest person she has convicted of rape in the four years she has handled sex offenses.

Since his trial, Savas has hired a new lawyer and plans to appeal on the grounds that his first attorney was incompetent.

Court records give this account:

On Jan. 8, 1990, while his wife and two children were away, Savas hired the woman to spend the day cleaning his five-bedroom, five-bath residence.

Savas told the woman that evening that the house wasn’t clean and insisted that the woman spend the night in his daughter’s bedroom. This was repeated the next two nights.

On Jan. 11, while the woman was cleaning his room, Savas appeared naked, pushed her onto the bed and raped her, according to court records. The woman suffered bruises in an attempt to resist the assault, records say.

Savas then drove the woman to Culver City--supposedly because the woman’s paycheck was left at the taxicab business owned by Savas’ wife, before taking her to her residence in Los Angeles. The woman said she was never paid.

Prosecutor Peace said Savas initially told investigators that he was impotent and denied having sex with the housekeeper. When DNA evidence proved that sperm found in the victim belonged to Savas, he admitted having sex with her but said she had consented, the prosecutor said.

At the trial, which Judge Charles R. McGrath heard without a jury, Savas said the woman asked him to loan her money and he agreed to give her some. He then gave her a tour of the house and they had sex, he said. The woman later turned against him, Savas said, because he did not give her as much money as she wanted.

Savas’ current attorney, Richard C. Loy of Ventura, criticized the trial attorney’s decision not to have a jury trial.

Loy also faulted the trial attorney, P. Basil Lambros of Beverly Hills, for neglecting to investigate several angles, such as a claim by Savas that he would not have been capable of intercourse unless the woman had encouraged him.

In response, Lambros said Friday that Savas approved every action he undertook. “I stand by everything we did in that trial,” he said.

Peace said testimonials to the good character of Savas and his lack of a criminal record were outweighed by “what this victim has been put through.” She said trial testimony showed that friends of Savas had subjected the victim to threats and bribe offers.

“In all the rape cases I’ve handled, I don’t think I’ve seen one where there were so many threats,” Peace said. “It’s amazing that she has stood up under all that pressure.”

In pronouncing sentence, McGrath agreed that Savas had taken advantage of a woman who lacked transportation or the ability to speak English. But he also said that in the absence of a prior criminal record, Savas would be eligible for probation if the rape conviction did not carry a minimum three-year term.

The judge rejected Peace’s request for six years and sentenced Savas to the minimum, plus a fine of $5,000. He will be eligible for parole in 18 months.

A state corrections official in Ventura said Savas will probably be sent to the California Institute for Men in Chino, which has a unit for elderly offenders.