Oxnard man sentenced for string of sexual assaults dating back nearly 20 years
OXNARD, Calif. – An Oxnard man was sentenced to 64 years in prison for multiple sexual assaults dating back to 2003 – nearly 20 years ago, the Ventura County District Attorney's Office announced on Thursday.
Rodolfo Fernandez Franco, 41, was sentenced by Ventura County Superior Court Judge Anthony Sabo to 60 years to life in prison, plus four additional years for multiple sexual assaults in 2003 and 2020, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Amber Lee.
Franco was convicted of three separate sexual assaults on three different victims. The first assault happened on Feb. 16, 2003, in Oxnard, and the second happened just days later on Feb. 21, 2003, in Ventura, Lee said.
In both instances, the women were reportedly driving Franco to a destination when he threatened to harm them and forced the women to commit sexual acts.
The most recent assault occurred on Dec. 20, 2020, in Oxnard when Franco laid down next to a woman sleeping on the streets and began to assault her and strangle her, according to the Ventura Police Department.
Franco left a face mask at the scene of the 2020 crime, and DNA testing linked the mask to Franco and one of the 2003 assaults, Lee said. Further investigation revealed that he was involved in all three of the crimes.
He pleaded not guilty to the multiple sex crimes in May 2021, just two days after he was arrested.
A jury, however, found him guilty of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, two counts of sodomy by use of force, and assault with the intent to commit rape on June 24, 2022.
The jury also found true the special allegation that the crimes involved more than one victim, Lee said.
