Santa Rosa man avoids prison for sexual assault, disfigurement of stranger
Resources available for sexual assault survivors in the Bay Area
April marks Sexual Assault Awareness Month, where organizations in the Bay Area and across the country work to draw attention to the issue and resources available for survivors. According to the CDC, more than half of women and a third of men have experienced sexual violence in their lifetimes. KTVU's Heather Holmes speaks with Leah Kimble-Price, Executive Director at Bay Area Women Against Rape about the best ways to support survivors this month and all year round.
SANTA ROSA, Calif. - A 38-year-old man convicted of sexual battery and the disfigurement of a woman in Santa Rosa, an attack that happened in front of the victim’s daughter and cousin, was sentenced to probation.
Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Dana Simonds sentenced Trevor Colombano, of Santa Rosa, to probation on Tuesday, despite recommendations from the district attorney’s office and the state’s probation and corrections departments for a prison sentence.
Judge cites several factors
What they're saying:
Simonds cited the defendant’s cannabis use, stress, and mental health issues as factors in sentencing Colombano to probation instead of prison, according to the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office.
Brutal attack
What we know:
Colombano was convicted of mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon and sexual battery in the Oct. 28, 2023, attack.
Prosecutors said the victim, who has not been identified, had taken her dog on a walk near her apartment on Sonoma Avenue near Howarth Park when Colombano approached her from behind and rubbed his genitalia on her.
When the victim rebuffed him, he attacked, authorities said. Prosecutors said Colombano punched the victim in the head several times, then picked up a landscaping rock and repeatedly bashed her in the face with it.
The attack happened in front of the victim’s 13-year-old daughter and 13-year-old cousin.
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Two bystanders intervened, wrestling Colombano to the ground and holding him until police arrived.
The victim suffered lacerations to her scalp and lip. Her injuries required 17 stitches and five staples and left her permanently disfigured, the district attorney’s office said.
Victim's impact statement
What they're saying:
"When you have a stranger attack you in the way I was attacked, it felt like my ability to be strong was taken away from me. I have cried more in the last six months than I have in my entire lifetime…" the victim said during Colombano's sentencing. "My daughter and my little cousin, both thirteen at the time, had to witness the whole thing…I cannot even put into words the feeling of not being able to protect yourself or your child at the same time."
The defendant faced a maximum prison sentence of nine years, which the district attorney’s office, California Department of Corrections, and California Probation Department all sought.
"The defendant is statutorily limited from receiving probation and we cannot, even after much effort considering the complexities, favorable, and mitigating factors involved in this case, identify any factors that mark this matter an unusual case for probation consideration," the probation department said.
Simonds disagreed and sentenced Colombano to probation.
"Justice was not served in this case, said District Attorney Carla Rodriguez. "He sexually assaulted the victim and then beat her in the face with a rock to the point of hospitalization and permanent disfigurement. This woman will be permanently scarred for the rest of her life, both physically and emotionally."
Rodriguez said that Colombano was a "menace to public safety, period, and should be sitting in prison. That won’t happen."
The Source: Sonoma County District Attorney's Office