SoCal Man Who Blinded, Sexually Assaulted Ex Gets 40 Years In Prison
RIVERSIDE (CBS) — A Menifee man who used household chemicals to incapacitate his former girlfriend and then sexually assaulted her in revenge for breaking up with him was sentenced to nearly 40 years in prison on Thursday.
King William White, 21, pleaded guilty on Oct. 24 to a dozen felony charges, including rape, mayhem, throwing acid with the intent to cause great bodily injury, kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon.
The defendant, who had no criminal record prior to the assault, will serve 39 years and 8 months in state prison. He could have faced life in prison if convicted by a jury of all counts.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Mark Johnson sentenced White to the term requested by the by the District Attorney's Office, which negotiated a plea deal with the defendant and his attorney last month.
According to prosecutors, White attacked his now-19-year-old ex-girlfriend on Aug. 15, 2009, after she went to his Menifee residence for a brief visit.
The woman, whose identity was withheld, had ended her five-month relationship with White after learning he had been unfaithful.
Prosecutors said White convinced the victim to stop by his home so he could repay money that he owed her. When she arrived, the defendant told her he had left some cash on a bathroom shelf, and the victim went to retrieve it.
White trapped the woman in the bathroom and splashed her in the face several times with toilet bowl cleaner and isopropyl alcohol, much of which went into her eyes, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Temporarily blinded, the woman was dragged into a bedroom and raped, prosecutors said.
After the estimated 10-minute assault, White allowed his former girlfriend to go outside and instructed her to tell her teenage cousin, who had driven her to the location, to leave. However, the victim used the opportunity to escape.
Sheriff's deputies were contacted by both the victim and her assailant, with the latter initially claiming his ex-girlfriend had tried to commit suicide -- and he had prevented it.
White later confessed, saying he had wanted to punish his ex-girlfriend for dumping him, according to investigators.
The victim spent three days in a hospital undergoing eye-cleansing and other treatments to prevent permanent corneal damage. However, she continues to suffer from vision problems as a result of the attack, according to prosecutors.
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