Man sentenced to 34 years to life for beating, raping woman at Huntington Beach apartment

A Huntington Beach man was sentenced Tuesday to 34 years to life in state prison for beating, raping and torturing a woman at their apartment complex.

Thomas Clifford Johnson, 45, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder, one count of sexual penetration by a foreign object and a sentencing enhancement for inflicting aggravated torture, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Johnson entered the then-64-year-old woman’s apartment in the 20000 block of Portview Circle in Huntington Beach early Dec. 22, 2013, and beat her with a hammer and raped her with a foreign object, according to the district attorney’s office.

Johnson called 911 to report the attack at about 3:30 a.m. Huntington Beach police arrested him at the scene.

The woman was treated at a hospital for a broken jaw, bleeding in the brain, broken bones in her face and behind her ear, facial cuts and other injuries, prosecutors said.

She also suffered a stroke two days after the attack and required multiple surgeries, officials said.

During Johnson’s sentencing Tuesday, the woman told the court that she has disabilities resulting from the attack, including significant vision and hearing loss and an inability to remember what foods taste like.

— Anthony Clark Carpio

Twitter: @acocarpio