85 Years For Admitted Lake Highlands Serial Rapist
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A North Texas man confessed to being the serial rapist who terrorized the Lake Highlands area last year. Today Cesar Benitez learned his fate.
For the charges of sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault with a deadly weapon and burglary, Judge Ernie White sentenced Benitez to 85 years in prison.
Three victims testified during the sentencing phase of the trail. All of the women used fake names and their faces weren't shown in courtroom video.
One woman, using the name Mary Kramer, told the court, "I woke up to a man standing in my bed telling me to 'wake up.'" She went on to testify how Benitez attacked her at knifepoint.
Testimony from the woman, who was the first of three rape victims from Dallas' Lake Highlands area, painted a picture of terror that night in February of 2013.
"I was sure he was going to cut my throat. It was the most I yelled and panicked; I said, 'Please leave. I won't tell anybody. Please leave. Don't kill me. Don't kill me,'" she recalled.
The woman went on to describe the emotional scars left behind, including the fears she continues to face today. "I spent a year trying to move forward and put this past me, and now I have to relive the whole thing in front of the man who did it."
Benitez' other two victims, whose attacks happened on March 15 and 22, also took the stand and described the vicious acts they endured. The confessed rapist sat quietly through the testimony.
The 85-year prison sentence for Benitez will be served concurrently. He must serve 30 years before being eligible for parole.