Atascadero man who sexually assaulted 4 girls receives maximum sentence
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - An Atascadero man who sexually assaulted four girls was sentenced to the maximum sentence in state prison on Thursday.
Jess Drue Brasuell III will spend 47 years and four months in prison for 20 felony sex crimes he committed against four teen girls.
Brasuell, 59, was arrested in January 2018 on accusations that he raped a 16-year-old girl. A search warrant was served at his home in November 2017 after sexual assault allegations were made against him. During the course of the investigation, three more girls came forward to accuse Brasuell of sexual assault.
During Brasuell's sentencing, several of his victims addressed him before the judge announced his sentence.
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office described the statements and commended the victims for coming forward.
"One of the victims who is now 19 years old, told the judge that she ‘is not a victim but a victor’ and that she hoped Mr. Brasuell will get the help that he needs to not prey on young girls.
Another victim described how it was hard to see all of the other girls who were also sexually abused by the defendant. She further stated, ‘a lot of girls could have been saved if one had spoken up.’ She said he ruined a lot of their lives and that they have to live with what he did and described feeling that the defendant acted as though she doesn’t exist.
A third victim said that she blamed herself but now understood she wasn’t to blame. She described that the defendant stole her innocence and that she wanted him to spend to his last days thinking about what he did."
San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office
District Attorney Dan Dow said he was in awe of the "courage and strength of these young women."
In September, Brasuell was found guilty of 20 felony counts, including multiple sex crimes on the four child victims, possession of child pornography, and providing narcotic drugs to minors. The trial lasted three and a half weeks.
The District Attorney's Office argued for the maximum sentence for Brasuell. On Thursday, a San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Judge honored that request.
The case was investigated by the Atascadero Police Department.
