‘Pickup instructor’ sentenced for Gaslamp rape of unconscious women

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) — One of three men who raped an intoxicated woman in a rented Gaslamp District apartment more than three years ago was sentenced Friday to eight years in state prison. 

Jason Berlin, 28, pleaded guilty in connection with the October 2013 incident. Two other men, 27-year-old Alexander Markham Smith and 28-year-old Jonas Dick, were convicted of rape charges and sentenced last year to eight years in state prison.

According to court documents, a 31-year-old woman and her girlfriend left a bar about 2 a.m. on Oct. 14, 2013, and were waiting for a taxi when they were approached by Smith and Dick. The defendants invited the women to an apartment on J Street, where Berlin was asleep on a couch, according to court documents.

The victim was raped while she was passed out in a bedroom and separated from her friend, authorities said.

The friend remembered Dick’s name, which led her to a website known as "Efficient Pickup," which taught men how to seduce women. Smith and Dick were listed as instructors. The friend told police about the website.

Smith was arrested in January 2014. At trial, he was convicted of rape of an intoxicated person and rape of an unconscious person. Dick and Berlin were  arrested in March 2015. They each pleaded guilty to rape charges.

Defense attorney Vikas Bajaj said Berlin was naive and fell into a "web" spun by Smith and Dick.