Man Who Abused Girlfriend Sentenced to 29 Years to Life

In an unusual but not unprecedented action, a judge sentenced a Van Nuys man to 29 years to life in prison for spousal abuse.

Steven A. Rose, 40, whose criminal record included robbery and drug use, drew the stiff term Wednesday from Superior Court Judge Shari K. Silver for his third serious or violent felony conviction under the state’s “three strikes” law.

“I think what it again shows is that domestic violence is taken very seriously by this office and by this jury,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Jennifer Turkat, who handled the case. “These are the kinds of cases the three-strikes law was meant to deal with because this was a very violent crime.”

Turkat said Rose had been out of state prison for about two months when he beat up his live-in girlfriend, the mother of his 2-year-old child. According to police, Rose threw her down on the bed, struck her and bit her on the nose.

Rose has had numerous run-ins with the law, dating back to 1978, Turkat said. His previous convictions included robberies and using drugs while in County Jail, she said.

During the trial, the victim tried to downplay her injuries, according to Turkat. But after the jury saw photographs of her injuries and listened to tape recordings of police interviews with her, Rose was convicted.

Alan Yochelson, head of the Van Nuys district attorney’s office Sex Crime Child Abuse, Domestic Violence Unit, said this is the fourth three-strikes case this year involving domestic violence in Van Nuys Superior Court.