THOUSAND OAKS : Man Pleads Guilty in 2 Attempted Rapes

A Newbury Park man pleaded guilty Thursday in the attempted rapes of two elderly Thousand Oaks women in May.

David Paul Stewart will face 8 1/4 years in prison at his scheduled Oct. 28 sentencing, prosecutors said.

Stewart, 33, entered guilty pleas in Ventura County Superior Court to two counts of assault with the intent to commit rape. He had entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity on Sept. 1. The victims are 87 and 73.

At a June 30 preliminary hearing, the older victim said she fought Stewart off by hitting him repeatedly with a telephone after he broke into her apartment. The 73-year-old woman said the defendant broke into her apartment and came into her bedroom about 2:30 a.m., touched her and tried to kiss her.

Police said Stewart was still in the apartment building when they arrived. A Ventura County sheriff’s detective testified that a drunken Stewart had been spotted at a local bowling alley several hours before the attacks on the women, and that he had been making advances at other women and offered one money to have sex with him.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Patrice D. Koenig said the victims did not want to have to testify at trial.