A 41-year-old man has been handed a nearly 26-year sentence for sexually assaulting two women in the Angeles National Forest, as well as committing lewd acts on two children over several years. Eduardo Sarabia entered a no contest plea to a sequence of charges including forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, kidnapping, and lewd acts with a child under 14. According to ABC7, the attacks on the women took place on consecutive nights in May 2024 in the remote canyon hills above Azusa.
In a deeply unsettling case, deputies described Sarabia's van as a "rape dungeon on wheels," a chilling setting where the sexual assaults occurred. After being arrested on May 13, 2024, Sarabia has remained incarcerated. The sentence aims to possibly bring closure to the harrowing experiences faced by the victims. A plea deal was agreed upon, and Sarabia was swiftly sentenced, as reported by FOX 11. His other two alleged victims, who came forward after the assaults were discovered, included Sarabia's niece.
Details of the disturbing events revealed that Sarabia first met one of the victims at the El Monte Metrolink Station, where he offered her a ride before assaulting her along Highway 39 in the forested area. The next day, law enforcement patrolling the area happened to find Sarabia's van, and upon intervention, they discovered another victim who was screaming for help. L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón expressed the community's shock and sympathy, stating, "The horrific and violent sexual assault that these two survivors endured by the alleged suspect is deeply troubling and incomprehensible," in a statement obtained by ABC7.
While already facing grave charges for the two sexual assaults in 2024, the additional accusations involving minors dated between February 2010 and February 2012, and then again from April 2021 to April 2022, paint an even more heinous picture of the convicted individual. The severity of Sarabia's actions is underscored by the cumulative sentence of 25 years and eight months, signaling a staunch approach by the justice system to crimes of such brutal nature. Eduardo Sarabia's no contest plea, along with the subsequent sentencing, emerges as a sobering reminder of the ceaseless work that must still be done to ensure safety and justice for victims of sexual violence, as retold by FOX 11.
