Appeal rejected for Pomona man imprisoned for continuous physical, sexual abuse

A state appellate court has turned down an appeal from a Pomona man convicted of kidnapping, raping and torturing his girlfriend.

Raul Carrillo Alderete, 30, was sentenced to more than 100 years in state prison last year after being convicted by a Pomona Superior Court jury of 11 felonies related to numerous instances of abuse.

In an appeal to the 2nd District Court of Appeal, Alderete asked for a new jury trial -- objecting to one of the jury instructions -- and argued that his sentence was unconstitutional because its length constitutes cruel an unusual punishment.

A three-judge panel disagreed with Alderete's arguments and rejected his appeal on Tuesday.

Alderete did manage one small achievement in his appeal -- the justices granted him 34 days of conduct credit for his time in jail awaiting trail.

PDF: 121509 Alderete Appellate Ruling.pdf

Prosecutors accused Alderete of continuously abusing his 18-year-old girlfriend while the couple was dating in 2006 and 2007.

Alderete was accused of punching the woman and choking her, stabbing her with a screwdriver, forcing her to perform sex acts, and sodomizing her with a flashlight and beer bottle, according to a summary of the case in the appellate ruling.

He also threatened to kill her, according to authorities.

The woman reported the abuse to Pomona police when she was hospitalized in February 2007 with injuries caused by Alderete. Alderete remained a fugitive until the following year.

In December 2007, Alderete visited his estranged wife's home in North Hollywood, and kidnapped one of the children he fathered with the woman, according to the appellate summary.

In rejecting Alderete's claim that his prison sentence was cruelly long, Presiding Justice Norman L. Epstein highlighted Alderete's prior felony convictions and his apparent lack of remorse for his actions.

"He claims he was remorseful for his involvement in the charged activity, yet he remained a fugitive for almost a year, and during that time, he abducted his baby from his wife's home," Epstein wrote. "This does not demonstrate remorse."