A 39-year-old San Clemente man was sentenced to 45 years to life in prison Thursday for the rape of two women he lured under the false pretense of performing a "spiritual cleansing" ritual, authorities said.
Alberto Flores Ramirez was convicted by a jury on April 22 of two felony counts each of forcible rape and forcible oral copulation, prosecutors said.
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The jury also found him guilty of one felony count each of sexual penetration by foreign object by force and attempted forcible oral copulation. He also was convicted of a sentencing enhancement for sex crimes against multiple victims, the Orange County District Attorney's Office said.
He will also be registered for life as a sex offender, authorities said.
The charges against Ramirez stem from two sexual assaults that happened at a Santa Ana motel in 2012.
The first victim, a 33-year-old woman, said she and Ramirez met through an online dating website and Ramirez said he could help bring her children from Mexico to California through a spiritual cleansing ritual.
After meeting Ramirez, the woman said he took her to a motel room in Santa Ana where he proceeded to run raw egg onto her body, after which he sexually assaulted her.
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Ramirez then drove the woman back to her car. After he drove away she called police, officials said.
Authorities arrested Ramirez while he was driving to a Santa Ana parking lot on April 10, 2012 to meet the woman again, authorities said.
Officials said the media attention surrounding the case led another victim to come forward.
The second woman, a 49-year-old woman, met Ramirez on Facebook and he offered to perform a spiritual cleansing ritual to help her with her love life.
The woman and a friend then traveled from Las Vegas to Orange County by bus and Ramirez took the woman to the same Santa Ana motel.
While her friend waited outside, Ramirez took the woman inside a bedroom at the motel and sexually assaulted her, authorities said.
At Thursday’s sentencing, one of the victims gave a statement to the court where she described how she took pity on the Ramirez after learning about his family and children. She also said she hopes the crimes he committed were worth spending his life in prison.
Attempts to reach Ramirez's attorney were not returned by time of publication.
