Former Border Patrol Agent Sentenced to 24 Years in Rape of Mexican Woman
A former U.S. Border Patrol agent convicted of rape was sentenced to the maximum of 24 years in prison Friday by a judge who said the man abused his position of public trust.
Luis Santiago Esteves was sentenced to eight years for each of three charges in the Dec. 16, 1989, attack on a Mexican woman whom he met while on Border Patrol duty in Calexico. A jury found Esteves, 39, guilty of forcible rape, oral copulation and sexual penetration with a foreign object.
In handing down the sentence, Superior Court Judge William Lehnhardt said “the defendant took advantage of his official position and the crimes were carried out with planning and sophistication.”
The victim, now 23, testified that she had agreed to go on a date with Esteves and went with him to his El Centro apartment to wait while he showered and changed clothes.
His mood suddenly changed from friendly to angry, the woman testified, and he forced her to stay in the apartment and engage in sex acts that made her “sick.”
Deputy Dist. Atty. Mary Ann Carter-Birkman also said Esteves had violated a position of trust.
Esteves’ defense attorney said he planned an appeal.
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