Hubbard Admits Guilt in San Diego Rapes : Courts: Former police officer pleads guilty to 26 counts and is likely to receive a 60-year prison sentence.

Former San Diego police officer Henry Hubbard, who maintained for nearly a year that he was innocent of a string of rapes and robberies last summer along local beaches, abruptly reversed himself Thursday and pleaded guilty or no contest to all 38 felony charges against him.

Under a deal that the lawyers in the case stressed was technically not a formal plea bargain, Hubbard pleaded guilty to 26 charges and no contest to 12 others. Included in the 38 counts were seven rapes, attacks that dominated a string of crimes along the coast from La Jolla to Solana Beach.

Hubbard could be sentenced to about 200 years in prison but is likely to be hit with a term of about 60 years, sources said. Parole guidelines mean the 30-year-old Hubbard will be behind bars for about 30 years, a long time but not so long that it will rob him of the hope of one day walking free, sources said.

In return, prosecutors spared two teen-age rape victims the trauma of testifying against Hubbard and averted a costly and lengthy trial. Hubbard will be sentenced Aug. 10 before San Diego Superior Court Judge Herbert Exarhos.

Hubbard was arrested last August shortly after the last of the beach attacks. Hubbard, a patrol officer for 4 1/2 years, patrolled the beach area and worked the late shift, until 1 a.m. All but one of the attacks occurred shortly after that time.

Chewing frequently on his upper lip, Hubbard sat quietly Thursday in court during the 39 minutes it took to detail the charges against him, answering only “guilty” or “no contest” in a soft but clear voice to the charges--attempted murder, rape, robbery, attempted robbery, kidnaping, sexual battery and others.

Hubbard said nothing in court in his own defense. But, after the hearing, he issued a 16-line, handwritten statement that conveyed his “deepest regrets” to the victims and expressed his “sorrow” to his family and the San Diego Police Department.

The statement also said, “I am hopeful that the people of San Diego and the involved parties will, in time, be able to heal from this ordeal.”

Norm Stamper, the executive assistant chief of the San Diego police, said Thursday the pleas “close the book on the Henry Hubbard case.”

Although the lawyers in the case, defense attorney Kerry Steigerwalt and Deputy Dist. Atty. Stephen R. Anear, had talked about a plea bargain for weeks, no formal bargain was struck, both lawyers said Thursday.

Sources said the two sides could not agree on an appropriate sentence, though both the prosecution and defense agreed that it should be within the range of 50 to 70 years. Anear insisted on 60 or 70 years, while Steigerwalt pressed for no more than 55, sources said.

Even so, sources said, it was understood Thursday that Exarhos is likely to sentence Hubbard to 55 or 60 years in prison, though Hubbard pleaded guilty to all 38 counts. The judge, sources said, was relieved to avoid a long trial and the prospect of putting the two teen-age girls on the stand.

The two teen-agers--one 13 at the time, the other 14--were attacked last July at Windansea Beach in La Jolla.

Exarhos declined Thursday to comment, citing a rule that forbids judges from talking about cases in progress.

Anear said the sudden end to the case was “bittersweet.” The evidence against Hubbard, including DNA evidence tying him to all seven rapes, was “overwhelming,” and the temptation to press for the maximum prison term was great, Anear said.

But prosecutors are gratified that the 18 victims in the case--especially the two teen-age girls--will not be subject “to the ordeal of a trial,” Anear said.

He said “it would not at all be unusual (for Hubbard) to expect the possibility of receiving a sentence that would enable him to spend the final years of his life outside the bars.”

A 392-page grand jury transcript in the case, released last November, portrays a cool and collected gunman, a masked assailant who grew increasingly brazen with each attack. A pattern, though, remained constant:

The gunman, dressed in black, seemed to appear out of nowhere. At least one man and one woman were always present, and the woman was asked to bind the man’s hands, usually with duct tape the gunman had brought along. The gunman would sometimes get so frustrated with the woman’s efforts that he would grab the tape and finish the job himself.

The male victims would be placed face down or with their backs to the gunman, who took their girlfriends behind rocks or to remote areas of the beach to rape them.

The first attack that Hubbard was charged with occurred in September, 1990, and involved rape, rape with a foreign object and residential burglary.

Six other rapes occurred from June 15 to July 20 of last year, including the attack on the two teen-age girls at Windansea Beach. One of the girls was raped twice.

Last Aug. 15, Hubbard was arrested in connection with an attack on two men and a woman at Torrey Pines State Beach in which the assailant was shot. The two male victims were also wounded.

Shortly after the early-morning assault, Hubbard checked into a nearby hospital with a gunshot wound to his hand. His police flashlight was found at the scene and sand was discovered in his clothing.

The 26 guilty pleas included most of the sex charges against Hubbard. Most of the 12 no-contest pleas involved robbery, kidnaping or attempted murder. “He just never meant to hurt anybody,” said Steigerwalt, the defense lawyer, offering an explanation for the no-contest pleas.

A no-contest plea means Hubbard did not challenge the charge but did not admit guilt. For sentencing purposes, it can be considered the same as a guilty plea.

Steigerwalt said he drove out Wednesday evening to Torrey Pines State Beach and wandered around the area near Lifeguard Tower 14, where the attack Aug. 15 took place. As the sun dropped into the west, the lawyer weighed the morality of a deal likely to put Hubbard behind bars until the year 2020, perhaps longer--the cost of securing Hubbard some hope for liberty.

“I’m thinking, I know logically I’m doing the right thing,” Steigerwalt said. “Henry knows it’s the right thing being done. But it’s so very difficult when you have a man’s life in your hands. You always wonder if you’re making the right move.

“The evidence was so strong,” Steigerwalt said. “Henry realized it was strong. The question then is, what is the best of the available alternatives? This is it.”