Man sentenced to 65 years for raping hotel maid
SAN DIEGO (CNS) – An ex-con who beat and raped a housekeeper in a Midway District hotel room two years ago apologized for his actions Friday as he was sentenced to 65 years to life in state prison.
The victim urged Judge Louis Hanoian to send Christopher Stevens to prison for a “long time” so “he can’t get out and hurt someone else.”
Stevens — who was offered a college after a successful high school career in basketball — apologized for his actions, blaming it on a rough upbringing.
“I feel remorseful for everything that took place,” he said. “I made bad choices.”
Stevens, 46, pleaded guilty in October to a charge of forcible rape during a burglary and admitted a great bodily injury allegation.
The victim, now 56, told a probation officer that she still struggles with what happened to her at the Wyndham Garden Hotel on Sports Arena Boulevard on Dec. 21, 2012.
The woman said her face was split open and she lost a number of teeth in the attack, which resulted in a week-long hospitalization. She said she and her daughter continue with counseling to deal with the traumatic event.
The victim testified at an earlier hearing that Stevens attacked her about 11:45 a.m. as she was cleaning a room at the hotel. She said the defendant came into the room, said it was his and told her to clean the bathroom.
“I said, `It’s already clean,”‘ she testified. “He said, `Close the curtains.’ I thought he was going to harm me. He came toward me and threw me on the bed.”
Stevens then hit the victim in her head, knocking her unconscious.
“When I woke up, he was raping me,” she said, adding that he moved her about the room and raped her another three times before he got up and left.
Stevens, who has prior convictions for auto theft, burglary and robbery dating back to 1988, was arrested three days later, on Christmas Eve.
The San Diego police crime laboratory positively identified Stevens as the suspect from evidence collected in the room, including a shirt and empty beer can, according to court testimony.
In a separate case in El Cajon, Stevens pleaded guilty to elder abuse for trying to smother a 93-year-old woman with her pillow at an independent living facility. He is expected to be sentenced to an additional eight years in prison on Dec. 22.
