A former U.S. Marine staff sergeant convicted of sex crimes against six young women in San Diego – including one attack while he was dressed in military fatigues – will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Former Camp Pendleton-based Marine Staff Sgt. Ted Amparan, 41, was convicted in May 2015 on multiple charges, including forcible rape, kidnapping and rape by foreign object.
On Friday, he was sentenced to 97 years to life behind bars.
Amparan's defense attorney argued for a more lenient sentence, given Amparan's military service. The judge said that she recognized Amparan's service, but said that when someone uses that as an excuse to deceive and hurt others, it loses weight.
According to investigators, Amparan attacked raped and sexually assaulted six women along San Diego’s El Cajon Boulevard over a five-year period – between 2007 and 2012 – when he was an active duty Marine.
Prosecutors said Amparan targeted prostitutes, taking them to secluded areas of Camino Del Rio South to sexually assault them.
"He picked the most vulnerable of our population in that they were sex workers on El Cajon Boulevard, almost all of them, and that's how he can get them in the car, and once they're in the car, they're at his mercy," said prosecutor Mary Ellen Barrett.
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The women were between 16 and 23 years old and, though petite, fought back against him, prosecutors said.
One of the victims wasn’t a prostitute, but became lost while trying to find a friend on El Cajon Boulevard. Dressed in his military fatigues, Amparan stopped his car and offered her a ride.
When she realized that she was about to be raped, she fought back, Barrett explained.
"And it hurt her, and all she was asking for was please don't hurt me," said Barrett. "And he gained control of her with the use of the knife and he went on and hurt her, disregarding whatever she had said because she just wanted to survive."
In some cases, to get away from Amparan, his victims went as far as to scale a six-foot fence and cross two lanes of Interstate 8.
Some of the women testified at trial that Amparan told them nobody would believe their stories, and their cases would not be investigated.
"They are all amazingly strong women, I can say that," said Barrett, "and they are going on with their lives, which is incredible given what happened and the response and how long it took."
Amparan was booked into the South Bay Detention Facility in Chula Vista on May 24, 2012, where he has been in custody every since.
