Rapist Gets Six Life Terms, Plus 122 Years

A former Navy yeoman was sentenced Friday to six life terms plus 122 years in prison for a series of robberies and sexual assaults that terrorized beach communities in 1992.

Amos Dwayne Stevenson, 22, who police dubbed the “ATM rapist,” stared downward as Superior Court Judge Robert R. Fitzgerald declared him a predator.

One of the women assaulted said she is grappling to regain control of her life and came to court to watch as Stevenson was punished for his crimes.

“I’m not the victim--he’s my victim now,” declared the 35-year-old Orange County woman, her voice shaking as she spoke.

Stevenson was convicted of kidnaping and robbing six people in four separate encounters between September and December, 1992. Some were were attacked near the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station--where Stevenson worked--while other crimes occurred in Huntington Beach and Long Beach. Five of his victims were women.

In most instances, he would force his victims to drive to an automated teller machine and withdraw $300, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Dennis Bauer.

But on several occasions, he also raped or sexually assaulted the women, Bauer said. In one instance, Stevenson kidnaped two women who were Christmas shopping and locked one in the truck while he raped the other. During that attack, he threatened to rape the woman’s friend if she did not comply, Bauer said. DNA evidence was used to link Stevenson to several of the attacks.

Deputy Public Defender Deborah Barnum asked the judge to spare her client the harshest sentence, citing his age, his lack of criminal history and because he only used enough force to carry out his crimes.

But the judge noted that Stevenson made his victims pretend to enjoy their sexual assault, and called the defendant a “sexual predator” who deserved the “absolute maximum possible sentence under law.”

Stevenson must serve at least 103 years in prison before he is eligible for parole, Bauer said.