East County

A judge sentenced Carlos Antonie Hinojosa to 94 years and four months in state prison for committing a series of East County rapes.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Zumwalt handed down consecutive sentences on most of the 20 counts Hinojosa was convicted of in a jury trial on June 8.

The courtroom was packed with spectators, including many of the nine victims and their family members.

“It’s over. No more bad dreams. It’s behind me,” one victim said after the sentencing.

“The years he was sentenced to will never be enough,” said another victim.

“We wanted more, but we’re satisfied,” said a third victim.

Hinojosa, 30, of El Cajon, was convicted of 20 counts of rape, forcible oral copulation, assault with a deadly weapon, assault with intent to commit rape and burglary.

Most of the rapes occurred at knifepoint in the early morning hours in the victims’ homes in Santee, El Cajon and Lakeside in 1985 and 1986.

Deputy Dist. Atty. John Massucco Jr. had argued for a term of 107 years in prison.

The judge also gave Hinojosa, a diesel mechanic, an extra five-year term consecutively for having a prior rape conviction, and several more years for inflicting great bodily injuries on two women.

According to a defense document, Hinojosa admitted to using $500 worth of cocaine a month in 1986. He told a psychologist that he fantasized about rape.