Convicted rapist’s appeal rejected

A three-judge panel on Monday upheld the sentence of a man convicted

of raping three women after luring them via the Internet to meet with

him.

Daniel Zabuski, 43, was convicted in February 2002 of six counts

of forcible oral copulation, two counts of forcible rape, forcible

sodomy and attempted forcible sodomy. He was sentenced Aug. 27 to 80

years to life in prison under the state’s three-strikes law. Burbank

Police investigated the case.

Zabuski alleged that the trial court erred in prohibiting the

introduction of one of the victims’ postcrime statements, that the

prosecutor committed misconduct, that his attorney was incompetent

and that the admission of his prior sexual crimes was

unconstitutional. All of Zabuski’s contentions were rejected.

Darleene Barrientos