Palmdale man gets 23 years for attacks on female joggers

LANCASTER – A Palmdale man convicted of attacking two female joggers in the Antelope Valley was sentenced Friday to 23 years in state prison, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office announced.

Heriberto D. Romero, 34, was also ordered to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

His conviction stemmed from attacks that occurred in January and September of last year, authorities said.

The first attack occurred Jan. 17, 2015, when Romero sneaked up behind a 20-year-old woman who was taking an evening run at Pelona Vista Park in Palmdale, according to testimony during his trial. Romero struggled with the woman over her cell phone as she tried to call for help and ultimately succeeded in getting the phone away from her, according to Deputy District Attorney Scott A. Yang.

The attack stopped after the woman’s assailant saw or heard someone in the park, Deputy Ryan Rouzan of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau said last year.

The second attack happened in the afternoon of Sept. 15, 2015, as a 24-year-old woman jogged along the California Aqueduct, the prosecutor said. Romero had been hiding in the bushes before he jumped out and attacked the victim, according to the testimony.

The woman fought back against her assailant, who fled the location, Rouzan said last year.

Romero was arrested a week later by the sheriff’s department and has remained jailed since then.

He was convicted by jury on Aug. 3 of two counts of assault with intent to commit rape and one count each of attempted kidnapping to commit rape, false imprisonment by violence and dissuading a witness from testifying.

Previous related story: Suspect arrested for sexually assaulting female joggers

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