Man Sentenced to 146 Years for 2 Gang Rapes : Courts: Gilbert De La Cruz, 20, will be eligible for parole at age 92. He was one of four charged in the attacks at community center.

A 20-year-old Anaheim man was sentenced to 146 years in prison Friday for his part in two separate gang rapes of teen-age girls at a community center, one of the longest sentences ever in Orange County.

Gilbert De La Cruz, one of four suspected Anaheim gang members charged in the rapes, sat without visible emotion as Superior Court Judge Richard L. Weatherspoon announced the sentence. De La Cruz will be eligible for parole at age 92.

His family members sobbed in the courtroom. The victims were not present.

The two rapes occurred last year at the Anaheim Independencia Community Center, where the victims had become separated from their friends, according to a court sentencing report.

On Sept. 12 a 15-year-old girl was held down by several people, and a knife was held to her neck while as many as 12 males raped her, the report said.

On Nov. 7, a 14-year-old girl was raped by several people after being left behind by her friends about 2:30 a.m., according to the sentencing report. After a continued struggle, she was thrown to the ground and knocked unconscious, where she remained about three hours. About 10 people watched but did nothing when she screamed for help, according to the report.

In statements to authorities, De La Cruz admitted that he participated in the first rape after smoking methamphetamine, according to the report. He told a probation officer it was “the worst thing I ever did by far.”

He denied involvement in the second rape, saying he was at his girlfriend’s house, according to the sentencing report.

De La Cruz, whom the judged described as a “serious danger to society,” has a long juvenile court record and was on probation at the time of the rapes for assault with a deadly weapon, according to court records.

He faced a maximum 285 years in prison for his conviction of 22 counts of rape, using a weapon, and aiding others in a crime, prosecutor Camille Hill said.

“He could have stopped at any point in time,” she said.

Only four people in either rape have been identified by the victims or through DNA testing, she said.

Two juveniles have been sentenced to the California Youth Authority, where they cannot be held past age 25, while a third adult is awaiting trial, she said.

In letters to the court, De La Cruz’s family said he was remorseful and pleaded that he be given a shorter sentence.

One victim urged the harshest sentence possible.

“It is so unfair to me because I can’t live a happy normal life like other teen-agers,” she wrote to the court. “I keep thinking to myself each time I see the news or paper that there has been a rape, and I’m one of those statistics.”