A suspected rapist admitted in court Oct. 6 that he sexually assaulted a maid at a Sports Arena Boulevard hotel and will face a sentence of 65 years to life in prison because he has been convicted of three felonies in the past.
Christopher R. Stevens, 45, admitted he committed the rape during a burglary of a vacant room the victim was cleaning on Dec. 21, 2012 at the Wyndham Garden Hotel in the Midway area. Stevens had been staying at the hotel.
Stevens would normally face 15 years to life for a rape during a burglary, but his three-strike felony convictions mean the sentence is tripled to 45 years, said Deputy District Attorney Trisha Amador.
He will get another five years consecutively for inflicting great bodily injury to the maid and 15 years consecutively for having three robbery convictions from 1988 and 1989, said Amador.
Sentencing was set for Dec. 12 by San Diego Superior Court Judge Louis Hanoian. Stevens withdrew an insanity plea that he entered May 30. The plea came just before jury selection was to start in his trial on Oct. 6.
Hanoian said he will dismiss the remaining charges of making a criminal threat to the victim, penetration with a foreign object, felony assault and three other sex charges in light of the other guilty plea.
Stevens is slated for a Nov. 6 trial involving an unrelated attack on a 93-year-old woman in an El Cajon retirement home when he allegedly tried to smother the victim with a pillow. He is also accused of robbing her of rings worth $19,000, according to court documents.
He is also accused of elder abuse and burglary. The woman activated a medical-alert button, and Stevens fled.
The El Cajon incident took place one day before the hotel rape. Stevens has pleaded not guilty to those charges related to the elderly woman. Stevens is being held on $4 million bail.