A 41-year-old parolee who was charged with assaulting three women in the Gaslamp pleaded guilty Wednesday.
Robert Kent Taylor, 41, was quickly sentenced to 55 years to life in state prison on burglary and false imprisonment charges. Taylor was paroled just five days before the crimes occurred.
Taylor admitted the crimes during his preliminary hearing before Judge David Danielsen. The defendant also has burglary and robbery convictions stemming from crimes in Santa Barbara dating back to 1995.
Deputy District Attorney Samantha Begovich said in court Wednesday that Taylor has a "predisposition for attacking people in our community."
Begovich said Taylor's guilty plea and sentence ensures he will no longer be able to attack people in our community.
Taylor assaulted two women in separate hotel rooms at the Residence Inn by Marriott in the 350 block of 6th Avenue on April 1, police said at the time. Detectives said Taylor tried to break into a ninth-floor hotel room occupied by two women but one of them was able to stop him from getting in. Taylor then fled, according to police. Prosecutors said Taylor then went to a room on the eighth floor, knocked on the door and told the five women inside that he was an injured police officer and needed help. When one of the women opened the door, Taylor came in and tried to grope one of the women, police say.
He was accused of later attacking another woman in the bathroom at Fleming's Steakhouse, according to investigators.
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Taylor was originally charged with several counts of burglary, false imprisonment, making criminal threats and two counts of attempted sexual assault. Police say none of the victims was seriously injured.
