Buena Park Man Gets 153 Years for Rapes, Burglaries

A Buena Park man was sentenced to more than 153 years in state prison Friday for raping 11 women--most at knifepoint--while committing a series of nighttime burglaries over a 2 1/2-year span.

Superior Court Judge John C. Wooley sentenced Danny Harris, 43, to 153 years and eight months, a term prosecutors said is the longest in Orange County in recent memory. With time already served and other good-time credit, Harris will not be eligible for parole for at least 73 years.

Based almost solely on the relatively controversial DNA “genetic fingerprinting” evidence, Harris was convicted in June of 28 counts of rape, burglary and attempted rape.

In imposing the maximum sentence possible, Wooley characterized Harris as a “predator who stalked his prey” and who would pose a fatal threat to his victims if he were free.

Prosecutors alleged that Harris raped 11 women--two of whom were attacked twice--between December, 1985, and July, 1988. The attacks occurred during the night and early morning hours to women who lived alone on ground-floor homes in Orange County. The ages of the victims ranged from late 20s to 80s.

Harris stalked several of the women days before the actual attack, prosecutors added.

On Friday, two of Harris’ victims testified about the pain they experienced in trying to recover. One victim told Harris--who refused to return her steady gaze--that she contemplated suicide.

Another victim, now 90, testified, “I have tried to lead a normal life. And now in the last phase of my life, I’ve had this terrible incident happen and it’s made me feel dirty.”

Harris did not look up during the testimony, but kept his head bowed, his chin resting against his cupped hands.

His lawyer, Christian R. Jensen, said the lengthy sentence did not surprise him and that he had warned his client to expect it.

Jensen said he will file a motion to appeal both Harris’ conviction and sentence because he believes the DNA evidence was not sufficient for the conviction.