4 Men Sentenced in Rapes, Robberies in Valley Parks : Crime: Alleged leader gets 45 years for series of incidents that had the area on edge. Another defendant gets 20 years.

VAN NUYS — Four transients involved in a series of late-night armed robberies and rapes in west San Fernando Valley parks pleaded guilty to various charges Friday, leading to a 45-year prison sentence for the alleged ringleader.

Hector Martinez Rocha, 21, pleaded guilty to 10 felony counts--three rapes and seven robberies--stemming from attacks May 30, 1993, in Shadow Ranch Park and June 16 in Chase Park, both in West Hills.

During the first incident, prosecutors said Rocha raped two teen-age girls who were lying only a few feet from four friends who were tied up with their own shoelaces and belts. Another girl was sexually assaulted in the second incident.

Rocha also admitted robbing one person June 11 in Chatsworth Park North.

Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Michael R. Hoff sentenced Rocha to the maximum term of 45 years in prison. In exchange for the guilty pleas, prosecutors agreed to drop 10 other charges that could have added 16 years to his sentence.

“Rocha won’t see the light of day again until at least 2015,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Carol Fisch. California law allows prisoners to be released after serving only half their sentence if they work and stay out of trouble.

Another defendant, 30-year-old Francisco Chavez Ramirez, pleaded guilty to seven felony counts, including one rape, in the May 30 attack. Hoff sentenced Ramirez to 20 years in prison in the plea bargain. If Ramirez had been convicted on all charges, he could have been locked up for more than 30 years.

With Ramirez’s attorney beside him, Rocha’s lawyer, Dennis Cohen, said: “Both counsel felt it was an appropriate disposition based on the evidence.”

The third defendant, Jose Rivas Torres, 29, pleaded guilty to one count of robbery in the June 11 incident. He was ordered to prison for two years.

A man who acted as a getaway driver during the June 11 robbery, Jose Guadalupe Chavez, 22, pleaded guilty to being an accessory and was sentenced to 16 months in prison.

“It’s good the victims will be able to get on with their lives and won’t have to relive this nightmare,” Fisch said.

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The prosecutor previously said she was forced to drop six felony counts against Rocha and Ramirez stemming from an alleged attack May 28 in Shadow Ranch Park because the victims were not willing to testify in court.

Rocha was arrested June 19 at the park during a surveillance operation by the Los Angeles Police Department.

The series of attacks last summer led police to issue a warning for residents to avoid parks after dark. The arrests of the four men ended the crime spree, but authorities warn that the parks may still be dangerous after nightfall.