Two young women hugged fiercely in a deserted courthouse hall Monday, putting closure on the events of a terrible night one year ago.
Marty Lee Trujillo, 33, was sentenced Monday to two consecutive terms of three years to life in prison in connection with the attempted sexual assault of the two women, ages 16 and 18 at the time of the assaults.Both victims were attacked July 1, 1999. Prosecutors said Trujillo attacked the 16-year-old at a party, then repeatedly raped the 18-year-old later that evening.
Trujillo apologized Monday to the two victims but denied full recall of the attacks, which he attributed to an addiction to drugs and alcohol.
"I am so sorry for doing whatever was done, what happened," Trujillo said. "I'm sorry the girls had to go through this nightmare. But my family, my friends, they know I'm a compassionate guy. . . . If it hadn't been for the drugs, this never would have happened."
Through written statements read by friends and family, both victims said their lives had been irrevocably changed.
"I will be hurt by what he did to me for the rest of my life," one victim stated. "The worst thing he's done to me is the way he's made me feel about myself -- that I am worth nothing and that I am something to be used and tossed away."
In addition to prison time, 3rd District Court Judge Ann Boyden sentenced Trujillo to pay full restitution for counseling fees for both victims, as well as $400 in legal fees. Trujillo's attorney had requested probation and treatment for drug and sex offenders, but Boyden agreed with prosecutors' recommendation for consecutive prison terms.
"I'm sure you are sincere in that you are sorry," Boyden said. "But it is not an excuse, it is not justification, and it is certainly not a defense."
Boyden attributed the harsher sentence to Trujillo's history of offenses, including a criminal mischief conviction in 1989 in connection with the death of a Demoiselle crane at the Tracy Aviary.
Monday, the two women sat together, surrounded by family and friends, sobbing silently as Trujillo spoke and as Boyden issued the sentence.
"I'm all right," the now 17-year-old victim said after the hearing. "It's some kind of closure, I guess. It (the sentence) still wasn't good enough. I hope he fries, but that's never going to happen."
You can reach Jenifer K. Nii by e-mail at jnii@desnews.com