Rapist Gets 129-Year Sentence

Saying his crimes showed a “high degree of cruelty,” a Superior Court judge Monday sentenced a man to 129 years in prison for a string of ambush-style restaurant robberies and the rape of two employees.

Commenting on one rape, Judge Richard M. Aronson said Salvador Valdivia, 27, showed “total disregard for the victim as a human being.” The judge described the crimes as professional and planned and noted the vulnerability of the victims.

The crimes occurred at opening or closing times from November 1995 to April 1996 at restaurants in Fullerton, Buena Park, Laguna Beach, Irvine and Huntington Beach. Employees were held at gunpoint, told to lie on the floor and were tied. They were robbed of wallets and purses, and money was taken from the restaurants.

“I think it was a fair sentence,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Laurie Hungerford, who prosecuted the case. “I had hoped for an additional 50 years to life, but practically speaking, justice was served.”

Valdivia’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender James Appel, had asked the judge for a lighter sentence, arguing that the penalty for some of the crimes should run concurrently instead of consecutively.

Appel said his client has admitted some involvement in the crimes but denies committing the rapes. He said Valdivia is remorseful and blames his actions on drugs.

Three other men were arrested in connection with the crimes and face trial in September on similar charges. A fifth suspect is at large.