Long Sentence for Gang Member Who Raped, Beat Woman : Crime: The attacker also battered the victim’s 3-year-old son and left them both for dead at their Tustin home. His sentence is 50 years to life.

A gang member was sentenced Wednesday to 50 years to life in prison for a home-invasion rape and robbery in which a Tustin woman and her 3-year-old son were beaten, choked and left for dead.

Michael David Cowles, 21, of Riverside gained entrance to the victim’s home last March 7 by claiming to be a friend of the woman’s niece, according to court records. When the woman opened the door, Cowles and a teen-age accomplice burst in, court records said.

The woman was dragged upstairs and raped by Cowles and then by the teen-ager, while her son was downstairs, crying, according to court records. Both victims were then beaten and choked into unconsciousness. The home was ransacked and the assailants made off with jewelry, money and other items.

When she came to, the woman crawled downstairs and got help from a neighbor, who called police, according to court records.

The woman identified Cowles as her assailant, but Cowles continues to maintain his innocence, according to a sentencing report. Cowles’ defense attorney could not be reached for comment.

In a statement read during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, the woman said she and her son now live in fear. Her son, she said, is terrified by the sound of a doorbell. She said she believes she died during the ordeal but has been given a “second chance” at life.

“I will always live in fear and worry,” she wrote. “Indeed I did die.”

Cowles was convicted of attempted murder, assault, robbery, burglary and belonging to a gang. Deputy Dist. Atty. Robin Park said Cowles was also convicted of torture because the woman was stomped on so badly that her body and head were marked with the design on the soles of Cowles’ shoes.

“She was absolutely terrified and terrorized,” according to Park, who said Cowles must serve at least 27 years before he becomes eligible for parole. “She was kicked, beaten and then choked for so long she literally believes she died.”

The 15-year-old who joined in the attack was also convicted and sentenced to the California Youth Authority. He was not identified because of his age.

Jurors were particularly outraged by Cowles and have been following the case closely to find out his punishment, Park said.

Cowles has prior convictions as a juvenile for burglary and auto theft. A sentencing report that recommended a long prison term for Cowles said the brutal attack “reflected an incalculable degree of callousness.”