Rapist Gets 161-to-Life Term, One of Longest Ever in County

An unemployed Riverside man convicted in a string of Orange County sexual assaults was sentenced Friday to 161 years to life in prison, one of the longest sentences ever handed out in Orange County.

Steven Dexter Brooks, 24, attacked three women in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach in 1994. He had faced an expected sentence of 25 years to life in prison under the state’s “one strike, you’re out” sexual offense law for those crimes.

Superior Court Judge John J. Ryan, citing a list of aggravating factors in the cases, ordered Brooks to serve another 136 years on top of that life sentence.

“It’s very unlikely that Mr. Brooks will ever be released from custody in his whole life,” Deputy Dist. Atty Claudia Silbar said. “These were cold, callous crimes that showed a total lack of any regard for human feelings.”

Brooks also faces rape charges in five Riverside County cases.

An Orange County Superior Court jury last month found Brooks guilty of rape, sexual assault, burglary, robbery and other felonies in connection with the local attacks in November and December 1994.

The sentence came as a relief to one of Brooks’ assault victims, who attended the court hearing.

“The only thing I can imagine being worse than being violated like I have, would be having something like this happen to my children someday,” the woman, who was attacked in Newport Beach, wrote in a letter read by the prosecutor.

“I know there are many more people out there who are just as violent as Mr. Brooks. We can’t stop them from attacking, but we can stop Mr. Brooks from harming anyone else.”

Prosecutors alleged that Brooks broke into his victims’ homes through unlocked windows or doors and confronted them at gunpoint, demanding money and that they disrobe. He then tied and gagged his victims before attacking them.

In one case, the victim’s roommates arrived home before he was able to rape the woman, although he had already forced her to her knees and bound her with rubber exercise bands.

The victims identified Brooks as the man who assaulted them, and the prosecution case included DNA evidence that authorities said linked him to the crimes. A phone stolen from one of the victims was found in Brooks’ mother’s house.

Brooks, whose criminal record includes jail terms for attempted burglary and battery on a girlfriend, maintained his innocence in the sex attacks. Authorities said Brooks’ sentence is one of the longest ever given in Orange County.

Brooks will have to serve at least 85% of the 136-year portion of his sentence before he can begin serving the 25-to-life term, Silbar said.