An Arizona man who was linked by DNA evidence to a series of rapes in 1995 in Pacific Beach and elsewhere pleaded guilty on Dec. 16 to committing six rapes.
The agreed-upon prison sentence for Christopher Allan Vanbuskirk, 47, is 50 years to life in state prison, said San Diego Superior Court Judge Robert Trentacosta.
Sentencing was set for Feb. 20. Vanbuskirk remains in jail on $5 million bail.
Trentacosta told Vanbuskirk the maximum penalty is 140 years to life, but the consecutive sentences in the plea agreement is a total of 50 years.
“It’s good for the victims in that it gives them closure,” said Deputy District Attorney Meghan Buckner.
Vanbuskirk admitted to using a knife against some of the women during residential burglaries, and the sentencing enhancement that he raped multiple women. Two women were raped in 2002 and 2004 in Riverside County, and Vanbuskirk pleaded guilty to those assaults as well.
Buckner said Vanbuskirk will get 25 years for the San Diego rapes plus 25 years consecutively for the Riverside County rapes. A letter from the Riverside County district attorney was filed with the court authorizing the guilty pleas in the Riverside County area.
Watching the guilty pleas in court was San Diego Police Detective John Sullivan who wrote up the detailed arrest warrant declaration that Judge Maureen Callahan signed in April that authorized Vanbuskirk’s arrest. The DNA evidence that was collected and preserved matched Vanbuskirk’s DNA profile.
Vanbuskirk had moved to Goodyear, Arizona, and worked as the manager of a restaurant in Phoenix. Another undercover detective was at the restaurant and saw Vanbuskirk eat lunch. The detective retrieved Vanbuskirk’s plastic fork and put it in a paper bag and sealed as evidence. His DNA matched the rapist’s DNA profile.
A woman who lived in the 1900 block of Missouri Street in Pacific Beach came home at 11 p.m. on Nov. 17, 1995, and discovered Vanbuskirk wearing a mask in her living room. He displayed a knife and threatened to use it if she didn’t comply with his demands.
The woman’s hand were bound behind her. She was raped, digitally penetrated, and engaged in forcible oral copulation, according to the arrest warrant declaration.
Three other women were raped in Tierrasanta, Clairemont, and near Mesa College in 1995. One of them was attacked as she jogged on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard. He wore a mask and gloves in each attack.
Vanbuskirk’s DNA profile was compared with a public access genealogical database. San Diego Police reached out to the FBI Forensic Genetic Genealogy team in February 2019 and a match was determined.
He lived in San Diego in 1995 and in the Palm desert area in 2002 and 2004.