Westside

PLEA ENTERED: A convicted rapist who escaped from a West Los Angeles courthouse and raped a woman before he was recaptured last month pleaded guilty Wednesday to a dozen felony charges that will keep him in prison for life.

Phillip Juan Barba, 24, faces a 185-year sentence stemming from his jail break and the sexual assault on a West Los Angeles woman Sept. 15. He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 3.

Barba had just been sentenced to 29 years in prison for the rape and armed robbery of a woman in Venice when he managed to unlock his handcuffs and escape.

He broke into a nearby apartment and sexually assaulted a woman who was home recovering from surgery, Los Angeles police said. Barba was at large for about three hours before police caught him trying to flee the area in the victim’s car.

Barba must serve the 29-year prison sentence in addition to the sentence to be handed down next month, possibly resulting in a total of 214 years, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Carolyn McNary . . .