The man suspected of being the PB Peeper in a series of sexual assaults and peeping tom incidents has pleaded guilty to four charges and has agreed to accept a sentence of five years and four months in state prison.
Eduardo Castillo Herrarte, 33, of Lemon Grove, will be sentenced on Jan. 14 and remains in county jail without bail. He was arrested Feb. 22 by San Diego police officers in a series that began on Aug. 10, 2006.
Herrarte pleaded guilty to committing residential burglary and assault with intent to commit rape involving two female victims. He also pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of peeping and prowling in separate incidents.
He worked as a landscaper in the Pacific Beach area. He is a native of Guatemala and was here illegally. He has been deported twice, according to court records.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Tim Walsh dismissed other charges, including stalking, attempted burglaries, an assault and other peeping incidents after Herrarte pleaded guilty to the four counts.
His preliminary hearing had been set for Nov. 29, but the guilty pleas spare the victims from having to testify in court. Herrarte wrote on a court document that he “entered a building with intent to commit a felony” in an incident on Aug. 12, 2006. He also wrote he “committed an assault with intent to commit a felony” on a victim in January.
Herrarte also wrote that he “loitered and peeked into a building door or window” in two incidents, on Aug. 10, 2006, and on Feb. 28. He could have faced 12 years in prison if he had gone to trial and was convicted of all charges.
Police released a sketch on Feb. 15 and asked for the public’s help. A Pacific Beach resident contacted authorities after she remembered she had taken a picture of him in February 2005, after he peered into her neighbor’s window. The woman told police she had seen him recently in the area. That tip led to his arrest.