By Camille Baptista
The Alameda County Superior Court sentenced Jerry Brown Jr. to 44 years and eight months to life today for multiple sexual assaults, some of which happened in Berkeley.
Brown, 42, was found guilty May 17 of two counts sodomy, two counts oral copulation, one count false imprisonment, one count kidnapping, and one count kidnapping with the intent to sodomize. His sentence includes one sentence of 37 years eight months, and an additional sentence of seven years to life. He may be eligible for parole after 44 years and eight months.
Brown was originally arrested in 2009 by Berkeley sex crimes detectives and was charged with false imprisonment, oral copulation and sodomy, but the case was dismissed. He was then arrested again in Berkeley on Jan. 20, 2011, and in May this year he was charged and found guilty. The prosecutor was Amanda Chavez, with assistance from Oakland police inspector Gus Galindo.
Brown was found guilty of four cases of sexual assault between June 2008 and April 2009. In each case, he picked up a supposed prostitute in his car and claimed to be an undercover police officer. He then threatened the victims and told them he had a firearm, before attempting violent sexual assault.
The first of these cases happened April 4, 2009, when the defendant picked up a 27-year-old woman near San Pablo Avenue and Carrison Street. According to the Berkeley Police Department, a community member provided the license plate number for Brown’s car.
In two of the four cases, the victims were able to escape before being attacked. Of the two incidents that happened in Berkeley, one victim was able to escape and one was not.
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