Man Gets 42 Years in Rape, Murder Attempt
A Canoga Park man was sentenced Friday to 42 years in prison for the brutal rape of a neighbor whom he lured to Topanga Canyon, assaulted, stabbed, threw down an embankment and left for dead.
Joseph Serapiglia, 20, a part-time stock clerk who lived in the same apartment complex as the 31-year-old victim, pleaded guilty July 30 to five felonies, including second-degree attempted murder, three sexual assault charges and false imprisonment.
Serapiglia, who could have been ordered to serve a maximum of 60 years in prison, was sentenced by Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Robert Altman.
The woman, a mother of two, has recovered from six stab wounds suffered in the June 1 attack, Deputy Dist. Atty. Scott Gordon said.
She was a friend of Serapiglia’s father, who owned and also lived in the same apartment complex in Canoga Park, Gordon said.
The woman went with Serapiglia to Topanga Canyon early on the morning of June 1 after Serapiglia told her his father was stranded there and that he needed directions, authorities said.
Once there, he attacked her in his van, then pushed her off a 25-foot cliff.
The woman crawled back up the hill and was taken to a hospital by passersby.
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