SLO rapist sentenced to 6 years in prison, DA says. Survivor asked for a longer term
A San Luis Obispo man convicted of rape was sentenced to six years in state prison, according to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office.
Adrian Oswald Pinto, 37, also must register as a sex offender for life.
A San Luis Obispo jury found Pinto, 37, guilty of “ rape by force and sexual penetration by a foreign object” on Sept. 29, the District Attorney’s Office said in the news release.
San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Craig Van Rooyen handed down the six-year sentence after Deputy District Attorney Melissa Chabra argued for a 12-year sentence and Pinto’s defense attorney pushed for a three-year sentence, the release said.
“The maximum sentence allowed by law for the offenses is 18 years in prison,” the District Attorney’s Office said.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, Pinto assaulted the woman, who was not named in the release, on Nov. 1, 2019 near the intersection of west Foothill Boulevard and Los Osos Valley Road in San Luis Obispo.
After the sentencing hearing, the survivor spoke about “the impact these crimes have had on her personal well-being, noting the tremendous emotional toll and her inability to feel safe in her community,” according to the release. She asked the court to impose the maximum sentence.
The survivor’s parents also asked the court for the maximum sentence, describing the “emotional and physical impact of the crimes” on their daughter and themselves.
“The jury saw you for what you are,” the survivor’s mother told Pinto in court, according to the release. “You do not deserve leniency.”
“We thank the jury for their focused attention in this very sensitive and difficult case,” District Attorney Dan Dow said in the release. “We applaud the courage of the survivor in initially reporting the crime and for having the fortitude to describe the incident to the jury in order to hold this sexual predator accountable.”
