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Lancaster rapist convicted of sexually assaulting five women

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James Smith sits in the back of a Sheriff's patrol car June 16, 2014. Smith was taken into custody after deputies found him inside a green Buick parked in the 1000 block of West Avenue H-12 in Lancaster. (Photo by LUIS MEZA)
James Smith sits in the back of a Sheriff’s patrol car June 16, 2014. Smith was taken into custody after deputies found him inside a green Buick parked in the 1000 block of West Avenue H-12 in Lancaster. (Photo by LUIS MEZA)

LANCASTER – A Lancaster man has been convicted of sexually assaulting five women over a five-year period, including a 19-year-old student whom he abducted near Antelope Valley College and sexually assaulted in a vacant home.

A Los Angeles Superior Court jury deliberated about two days before finding James Smith, 38, guilty late Monday of  nine felony counts — three counts of forcible rape, two counts of forcible oral copulation, and one count each of sexual penetration by a foreign object, sodomy by use of force, attempted sodomy by use of force and kidnapping.

Smith was convicted of sexually assaulting a 21-year-old woman in Los Angeles on Dec. 24, 2009; a 43-year-old woman in Los Angeles on Sept. 24, 2011; a 33-year-old woman in Los Angeles on March 22, 2012; a 28-year-old woman in Lancaster on Dec. 6, 2013; and a 19-year-old college student in Lancaster on June 16, 2014.

Smith was arrested June 16, 2014, in Lancaster after the final attack. He pulled the young woman into his car near 33rd Street West and Avenue K (across from the Antelope Valley College campus), then drove her to a vacant house on the 43000 Block of 33rd Street West and sexually assaulted her, sheriff’s officials said. [Read more here.]

Shortly after the attack, deputies found Smith inside his vehicle parked in the 1000 block of West Avenue H-12, and he was arrested, sheriff’s officials said.

Smith, who has remained jailed without bail since he was taken into custody, is due back in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom for sentencing Nov. 2.

He faces up to life in state prison.

The Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s Special Victims Bureau investigated the case.

 

Previous related stories:

Lancaster man charged with serial rapes

Teen sexually assaulted near AVC, suspect caught

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8 comments for "Lancaster rapist convicted of sexually assaulting five women"

  1. I know him personally and these were only the cases he was able to be convicted of
    All of his victims have been serving their life sentences and now he will begin to serve his.
    It will take a lifetime of healing.
    My warnings went unheard.
    Young Lady You are AWESOME!
    PEACE BE WITH YOU
    We all appreciate your strength and bravery

  2. Thanks to everyone who supported me during this situation.I really appreciate everyone who where praying and leaving positive comments justice was served. And thanks for everything.

  3. So why was this pos out on the streets after being a repeat violent sexual predator, Jerry Brown? Your leadership abilities have destroyed our AV and the state isn’t far behind. You should be indicted for allowing our communities to be over-run with criminals.

  6. As I clicked on the previous articles and read the comments, I find it disturbing how this guy was so well known and no one could believe it. Sad. I hope everyone who said they have the wrong guy can look back and see what you were missing.