Crime & Safety

Man Gets 24 Years in Prison for Myspace Rapes

By City News Service

A 24-year-old Yorba Linda man was sentenced Friday to 24 years in prison for raping three women, two of whom he met through the MySpace social networking site.

Jason Ara Erpinar was convicted Aug. 30, 2012, of two counts of rape by intoxication and a count of forcible rape, all felonies, according to Deputy District Attorney Mark Birney said.

Orange County Superior Court Judge James Rogan handed down the maximum punishment and ordered Erpinar to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, Birney said.

"It's very deserving in Mr. Erpinar's case," Birney said.

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Erpinar pleaded guilty in August 2011 in a negotiated deal with prosecutors and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. But he was allowed to withdraw his plea in October of that year and the case went to trial, the prosecutor said.

Erpinar, who chose to go without a lawyer and represent himself, claimed the sex was consensual.

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"He is a very difficult defendant to deal with," Birney said. "He's a narcissistic, sociopathic, serial rapist. He is without sympathy for anyone else's feelings whether they are physical or emotional."

One victim wrote a letter to the judge and another told Rogan today in court how the rape affected her.

"One of the victims gave a very powerful, very emotional statement in terms of the toll this has had on her life and how hard the court process has been on her," Birney said. "Not only was she raped by the guy, but she had to come to court and be cross-examined by him."

The two victims told the judge they were proud of themselves for standing up to their attacker, according to Birney.

Erpinar's first victim was a 17-year-old girlfriend he met while the two were in high school, Birney said.   They had been dating for about a year when he assaulted her, the prosecutor said.

Although he was charged with raping her once, evidence at trial showed he allegedly raped her multiple times, Birney said.

Erpinar met the next victim through MySpace, and he asked her out on a date on March 26, 2008, according to Birney.

The defendant and victim went to two Orange County parks, where they drank alcohol, Birney said.

The 22-year-old woman was highly intoxicated when he took her to a Newport Beach hotel and raped her, Birney said.

She woke up the next morning with a cracked tooth and scrapes on her face, he said.

The woman called police, but there wasn't enough evidence at the time to prosecute Erpinar, authorities said.

The defendant asked the third victim, whom he also met through MySpace, to join him at a party in La Habra on March 7, 2009, Birney said.

The 18-year-old woman got so drunk that she vomited, Birney said. Erpinar raped her at the party and she called police the next day, he said.

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