An Ocean Beach man accused of sexually assaulting two women in OB pleaded guilty to both attacks March 3 and faces a prison sentence of 30 years to life.
Richard Christopher Butts, 26, and his attorney agreed to accept the long prison term, and Butts will be sentenced on April 17, according to court records.
“We all feel this is a fair resolution of the case,” said Deputy District Attorney Wendy Patrick.
Patrick said had Butts been convicted of all counts at trial, he would be facing 50 years to life in prison. He pleaded guilty to rape and unlawful oral copulation with both victims and admitted he kidnapped them when he moved the victims a substantial distance.
The guilty pleas were entered before San Diego Superior Court Judge Timothy Walsh on the day Butts’ trial was to start. Butts remains in jail without bail.
He was arrested March 24, 2013 after a young woman was assaulted in the early morning hours while she was walking on Long Branch Avenue. She testified she was grabbed and dragged to a dark area between a garage and a fence. Two women who were dog-sitting next door heard her screams and ran outside, causing the attacker to flee. They called 9-1-1 and Butts was arrested.
Police evidence technicians discovered a DNA match from the March 24 incident to an unsolved rape on Muir Avenue on Aug. 25, 2012. Butts was then charged with another rape and kidnapping and later ordered to stand trial in both attacks.
A brain scan was performed on Butts after his attorney requested it. Attorney Yahairah Aristy wrote that Butts has “very limited memory of the events alleged in this case” and she wanted an MRI scan “to see if there are any abnormalities” in his brain.
Aristy wrote that the information obtained from the scan “could be useful in negotiations and/or for sentencing purposes.”
The results of the scan are sealed.