Rapist Sentenced to 101 Years After Victims Testify

A notorious serial rapist was confronted by his young victims Tuesday in a tense, tearful court hearing that ended with a judge handing down one of the most severe sentences ever for someone pleading guilty to such crimes: 101 years in prison.

Steven Morales, who terrorized Orange County in 1998 with seven sexual attacks on women and girls as young as 13, sat silently as victims and their families looked him in the eyes and lashed out.

“Look at me,” yelled one sobbing teenage girl, slamming her fist on the lectern. “How can you sit in this courtroom with all these wounded souls and say you’re sorry and expect it to be all OK? I will fear people for the rest of my life.”

Morales, a 33-year-old former construction worker, turned to face his victims from his chair but showed little emotion.

Another teenage victim told Morales how her family was shattered forever the night he leaped at her from behind her bedroom door and assaulted her. “It wasn’t just the people who were attacked. It’s your wife. It’s your two kids. It’s every one of the girls’ families. It’s their friends,” she said.

Morales attacked mostly teenage girls during an eight-month crime spree in several upscale Orange County neighborhoods, many along the coast. Some girls were kidnapped off the streets at gunpoint. Others he attacked after sneaking into their homes. After raping one Seal Beach victim, he called a couple of times to torment her and warn her not to tell authorities.

Police cracked the case after learning that Morales had received a parking ticket near the home of one of his victims. Two Huntington Beach sisters later identified Morales from a series of photographs, and Morales was arrested in July 1999. DNA evidence was also used to link him to the crimes.

Morales pleaded guilty last week. Under the sentence handed down Tuesday by Superior Court Judge Francisco P. Briseno, he will be eligible for parole when he is 118. Officials said the sentence is unusual given the fact that he pleaded guilty; rapists in the past typically have received long sentences and been denied parole only after long, contentious trials.

Police and victims remain baffled by Morales’ motives. Morales, the father of two children, provided no insight into his behavior during a brief statement he read in court.

“You may wonder, why you,” he said, addressing the victims. The crimes, he said, “were no more planned than my wanting my wife, our children, families and friends to feel pain.”

In a clear, loud voice, Morales continued: “Explaining this tragedy is never going to be easy, and--for lack of a better word--unfortunately, tragedies similar to this happen to many people all over the world.”

Morales’ statements enraged one victim’s father. “Face me!” he screamed to Morales, who turned toward him without hesitation. “When you’re put in your cell at night . . . you’ll sit and wonder that [your daughter] doesn’t run into [someone] like you. Rot in hell.”

One girl was amazed that Morales is himself a father: “You have a daughter. How could you do that? . . . You make me sick,” she said.

The rare chance to confront their attacker seemed cathartic for the three girls who chose to testify. One had to stop after being overcome with emotion. And the sobs and sniffles of other victims and family members in the crowded courtroom were unceasing. Even a bailiff had to wipe away tears.

One girl confessed that she could no longer sleep alone in her room at night and that she had never told her father of the ordeal. A family told of how they had to relocate after their daughters became the target of taunts from neighborhood children.

Though mostly appearing unmoved, Morales at one point seemed on the verge of breaking down. One girl he had attacked told him that it had inspired her to help other rape victims. She pleaded with him to do the best he could for others.

“I forgive you, and I want you to forgive yourself,” she said, crying. “Help make this world a better place.”