A San Diego judge sentencing a man convicted of violently sexually assaulting a woman on a La Jolla sidewalk had a strong message for the 25-year-old man.
Marco Antonio Villasenor, of Oxnard, Calif., was convicted of following a woman down a La Jolla street, throwing her to the ground and sexually assaulting her. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.
When handing out the sentence, Judge Louis Hanoian said the 25-year-old demonstrated "a total lack of awareness" of what he had done.
"The idea that you're sorry is absurd. There is no, there is no remorse," said Hanoian.
Villasenor's attorney said his client maintains his innocence and maintains the jury reached an incorrect verdict.
Judge Hanoian said he had been thinking about the case in recent days before the sentencing, especially in light of his 24 years on the bench.
"In the 24 years I have been on the bench, I have never heard a more preposterous story come from the witness stand in my career," said Judge Louis Hanoian. "The idea, the thought, that Jane Doe welcomed the advances out in La Jolla on that particular day were preposterous, they were absurd."
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The victim also spoke during the sentencing, detailing the effects of that traumatic night and the trail on her.
"The fact that he has no remorse, as he clearly demonstrated during testimony, where he lied under oath, shows that he is not sorry and that he does not think that what he did was wrong," the victim said during her impact statement.
Villasenor was ordered to register for life as a sex offender. He was initially charged with suspicion of assault with intent to commit rape, felony sexual battery and forced penetration with a foreign object.
San Diego police said last March, the 25-year-old victim was walking to her car parked along the 7700 block of Exchange Place in La Jolla just after 9 p.m. Suddenly, a man walking behind her ran toward her, grabbed her from behind and threw her to the ground, police said.
The man started sexually assaulting her, police said, but she managed to fight him off, screamed for help and called 911.
The suspect, who ran away, was found by officers a short time later walking in the 7700 block of Fay Avenue.
Police said the woman identified the man, Villasenor, as her assailant.
