DA ROD PACHECO LISTS TOP 10 SEX CRIMES CASES OF 2007

RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA, March 31, 2008: District Attorney Rod Pacheco announced today the list of the Top 10 sex crimes cases of the year for 2007. The list represents the most extraordinary, high profile sexual assault and child abuse cases from jury trials throughout Riverside County.

"These crimes were committed by sexual predators that prey on the most vulnerable victims, women and children, and prosecuted by the best and most talented experienced attorneys dedicated to keeping our communities safe," District Attorney Pacheco said.

Carl Dean Traister

Traister was convicted of 15 counts of rape and oral copulation in a case involving the sexual abuse of a victim who suffers from cerebral palsy and other physical and mental challenges and is confined to a wheelchair. When the abuse was finally reported, further investigation revealed that Traister had previously abused two other victims. All three testified during the trial. Traister is now serving 25 years in state prison. Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Chirco prosecuted this case in Riverside Superior Court.

Christopher Robert Urban

This case gained national notoriety from the Perverted Justice and Dateline NBC's "To Catch A Predator" series. Urban was charged with attempting to have sex with an underage girl who he met in an Internet chat room. The girl was actually a decoy from Perverted Justice posing as a 12-year-old girl. Urban showed up at a house to meet the girl where the actual Perverted Justice sting operation was being conducted and arrested by local law enforcement. He was convicted and given three years probation. Kyle Rowen is now in private practice.

Raymond Eugene Peyton

Peyton was prosecuted for molesting the victim while the mother of the child was bedridden and dying of cancer. The victim disclosed the molestation after the mother's death nearly three years later. Peyton was convicted and is now serving 66 years to life in state prison. Deputy District Attorney Ambrosio Rodriguez prosecuted this case in Riverside.

Eulises Cruz Perez

Perez began molesting the victim whenever the mother of the child was gone. He also raped another victim as well. The two victims were unaware of the attacks on each other until Perez decided to rape both of them at the same time. Perez was charged and convicted of 40 counts of aggravated sexual assault on a child. He was sentenced to 600 years to life in state prison. Ambrosio Rodriguez also prosecuted this case.

Raul Velazquez Ortega

Ortega was charged with raping and sodomizing two victims. The victims were afraid to report the crime because Ortega threatened to hurt other family members. Four years later, on of the victim told a high school counselor who called authorities. On the eve of trial, Ortega's family members took the victims to a remote, undisclosed location in order to prevent them from testifying. Investigators located them and brought them to court. Upon seeing them, Ortega pled guilty to all 38 counts of forcible sexual molest and aggravated sexual assault on a child. He was sentenced to 350 years to life in state prison. The Riverside case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Anna Yum.

Jeffrey Randolph Wright

Wright was charged with molesting three victims while he was a youth group volunteer at a local church. Wright befriended the victims through church activities, gained their loyalty and trust and then seduced them. Many of the sex acts occurred during church sponsored events. Wright was convicted and sentenced to 141 years in state prison. The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Burke Strunsky at the Southwest Justice Center.

Lorenzo Lorladas Hutchins

In another case in Southwest, Lorenzo Hutchins got his developmentally disabled victim pregnant after raping her. While the case was pending, another victim disclosed that they also been molested by Hutchins. He also had a previous conviction for child molestation in San Diego County. Hutchins was convicted and sentenced to 385 years in state prison. Deputy District Attorney Blaine Hopp prosecuted this case.

Charles Richard Olson

Olson began raping the victim while asleep on the sofa. When the victim awoke, he began to beat and threatened to kill the victim if it was reported. The victim ran out of the house and Olson got in his truck and tried to run the victim over as they fled. When the victim tried to escape to avoid being hit, Olson got out of the truck and continued beating and then fled the scene. Passers by eventually found the victim on the side of the road unconscious. On the eve of trial, the victim disappeared out of fear of testifying against Olson. The victim was finally located due to the fine work of the investigator on the case and brought to court to testify. Olson was convicted of rape and assault and sentenced to six tears in state prison. Deputy District Attorney Jess Walsh was named Felony Prosecutor of the Year and Reece Burchett was named Investigator of the Year for their work together on this Southwest case.

Jason Jermarr Johnson

Children are not the only victims of sexual predators. Jason Johnson took advantage of two defenseless elderly victims. After dropping his mother off at work, he drove around looking for potential victims under the guise of performing yard work. He approached a number of homes with elderly residents until he found his 63-year-old victim who lives with an 85-year-old resident. Johnson entered the home where he sexually assaulted and strangled the victim. Johnson was convicted of all charges, including three strikes, and is now serving 55 years to life in state prison. Deputy District Attorney Tricia Fransdal prosecuted this case in Indio.

Kevin Carl Faulkner

At the Larson Justice Center in Indio, Faulkner was a lifelong sex offender who sexually molested children for more than two decades. Faulkner was sentenced to 316 years to life in state prison after being convicted of 34 counts of child molestation. The eight month long trial was the longest non-death penalty case in Riverside County history. Another milestone in the case was the presence of jurors who returned to court to show support for the victims. Deputy District Attorney Victoria Cameron received the Felony Prosecutor of the Year award for her work on this case.

Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Team

Successful tracking of sex offenders in Riverside County is accomplished by the SAFE Team that focuses its efforts on monitoring, surveillance, arrest, registration, and inspection of these sex offenders. The task force works with local law enforcement to provide sex offender release and location notification to the public. It consists of five regional compliance teams and one countywide oversight team. A total of 315 arrests were made by the task force in 2007.