Novato, Sonoma men receive life terms in rape, kidnap case

The two men convicted of abducting a woman off the streets of San Francisco, beating her as they drove north and raping her in a Sonoma parking lot were sentenced to life in prison.

Fredi Lopez-Flores of Novato and Christian Quintero of Sonoma appeared in handcuffs in a Sonoma County courtroom for sentencing on Wednesday, nearly two months after a jury found them guilty of six counts of sexual assault and violence.

The woman, referred to in court only as Jane Doe, was abducted while waiting for a rideshare in San Francisco's Mission District.

“It has been four years since it happened and I'm still struggling like it was yesterday,” she said in an impact statement read to Judge Christopher Honigsberg by a victim advocate from the District Attorney's Office.

In a trial lasting four weeks, the victim took the stand and recounted the early morning of April 14, 2018, when she said Quintero had punched and choked her in the back of Lopez-Flores' car as they drove to Sonoma. She said both men took turns raping her in the back of the car before abandoning her in a parking lot.

“I will not be able to live a normal life again,” the statement said, adding that she hoped the court would dole out maximum sentences for both men, out of fear of their eventual release.

Honigsberg sentenced Lopez-Flores, 36, to a total term of 330 years to life in state prison. He gave Quintero, 27, 150 years to life. Lopez-Flores received a heightened sentence due to a prior domestic violence conviction.

Honigsberg denied requests by the defense attorneys for the two men to consider mitigating factors in sentencing, including Quintero's age of 24 at the time of the crime, Lopez-Flores' sixth grade education, and both of them being fathers.

Lopez-Flores, who gave an emotional testimony during the trial, maintained his innocence in a statement he read in Spanish to the court Wednesday.

“It is not fair that I continue to be punished for a crime I did not commit,” Lopez-Flores said behind a white face mask. “I beg you, your honor, to reach into your conscience when you dictate your sentence . ... My family needs your help.”

Before giving the sentences, Honigsberg called the crime “one of the worst sexual assault (cases) I have ever witnessed as a judge or an attorney.”

“Mr. Lopez-Flores, what's not fair is what you did in this case,” Honigsberg said.