REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER SENTENCED TO 14 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON PLUS SIX YEARS FOR SEXUALLY ASSAULTING 17-YEAR-OLD ON SIDE OF ROAD AFTER CAUSING FENDER-BENDER

REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER SENTENCED TO 14 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON PLUS SIX YEARS FOR SEXUALLY ASSAULTING 17-YEAR-OLD ON SIDE OF ROAD AFTER CAUSING FENDER-BENDER

SANTA ANA – A registered sex offender was sentenced today to 14 years to life plus an additional six years in state prison and lifetime sex offender registration for sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl on the side of the road after causing a minor car crash which forced her to pull over. Rasaan Raymon Patton, 31, Perris, Riverside County, was found guilty by a jury June 28, 2012, of one felony count each of kidnapping to commit a sex offense, attempted forcible rape, sexual penetration by foreign object by force, and sexual battery by restraint. He faces a sentencing enhancement allegation for having a prior felony sex conviction for a 1999 rape by intoxication in Riverside County.

At approximately 2:40 a.m. on June 21, 2008, 17-year-old Jane Doe was driving home alone in her parents’ minivan. Patton, who does not know Jane Doe, followed the victim in another car and caused a minor car crash which forced her to pull over. When Jane Doe got out of her car, Patton forced her to the other side of the vehicle, out of sight of passing traffic, and forcibly digitally penetrated her. Patton then pulled down the victim’s underwear with the intention of raping her. Jane Doe was able to escape and flee after the defendant got startled by passing cars.

Jane Doe drove home and later went to the Huntington Beach Police Department (HBPD) at approximately 4:00 p.m. that afternoon. A report was taken and HBPD investigated the case. Forensic evidence was collected from the scene including a partial handprint from the right rear door of the victim’s car. On April 9, 2009, the handprint from the car was matched to Patton’s fingerprints. The defendant was arrested by HBPD detectives on April 13, 2009, at his home in Riverside County.

During the sentencing today, the People read a victim impact statement on behalf of Jane Doe, who wrote in part, “I am currently 21 years old. The crimes committed happened when I was only 17 and still a minor. 　Almost a fifth of my life has passed throughout the course of this case. 　This incident has caused numerous flashbacks and nightmares, lack of sleep, and negatively impacted my school performance during my senior year of high school and even now [in college].”

Patton’s lifetime sex offender registration bars him from entering County recreational areas and City parks which have passed the Sex Offender Ordinance if he were to be granted parole in the future. Visit www.orangecountyda.com to read the prior press releases on the County’s Sex Offender Ordinance as well as the 13 other cities that have enacted the Child Safety Zone Ordinance including Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Hills, Lake Forest, La Habra, Los Alamitos, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Westminster, and Yorba Linda.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Jana Hoffmann of the Sexual Assault Unit prosecuted this case.

###