Serial rapist sentenced to nearly 400 years in prison

SAN JOSE — A judge has sentenced a serial rapist to almost 400 years in prison for raping six women who were unconscious or possibly drugged at the time of the attacks.

Damou Joseph Evans, 49, of Morgan Hill, was ordered Wednesday to serve 390 years to life, and must serve 65 years before being considered for any sentencing review. That latter condition ensures that, as Judge Paul Colin said at a prior court hearing, Evans spends the rest of his life behind bars. The punishment was amplified by the fact that Evans was already a registered sex offender when the latest sexual assault  surfaced.

Evans, of Morgan Hill, was a South Bay entertainment promoter who was arrested in August 2016 on suspicion of sexually assaulting a woman in San Jose. Afterward, several other women reported they were raped or sexually assaulted by Evans, leading to his conviction in February on 19 counts of sexual assault involving six victims.

Allegations that Evans had sexually assaulted a seventh woman were severed from the case after judges decided they did not meet probable cause requirements on their own. Judge Colin denied a request from the seventh woman for her own trial in May, saying said he could not justify the expense and emotional toll of more court proceedings since Evans was already facing so much prison time, and that he believed the latest convictions offered vindication for other victims whose allegations were not charged or reported. He expressed sympathy for the seventh woman, however.

At the time of his 2016 arrest, Evans had convictions from 2000 for sexually assaulting two women while they were unconscious, and was required to register as a sex offender. Because of those prior convictions, he fell under the state’s three-strikes law that factored into the length of the sentence handed down this week.

“Each victim is acknowledged and valued in the sentencing,” Santa Clara County District Attorney Michael Gilman said about the extraordinary length of Evans’ prison term.

Evans “engaged in being a serial intoxication rapist,” Gilman added. “We have eight women he’s been convicted of sexually assaulting over the course of many years. A lengthy prison sentence will serve to protect people in the community moving forward.”