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Gregory Sako, a graduate of Hillview Middle School and Menlo-Atherton High School, was sentenced Tuesday, May 19, in Corvallis, Oregon, to eight years and four months in state prison after a jury trial in which he was convicted of first-degree rape, according to the prosecutor in the case.
Mr. Sako, 20 and a sophomore at Oregon State University, faces 11 years of parole after he gets out of prison, as well as registration as a sex offender in Oregon and submission of a DNA sample to Oregon’s criminal database, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Christian Stringer via e-mail.
“Under Oregon’s violent-felony provision, he has to serve every day” of his sentence, Mr. Stringer said in an interview. “He doesn’t get any time off for good behavior, boot camp or any other early release program.”
Oregon laws prohibit prosecutors from talking about plea bargains, Mr. Stringer said, but he did say that an offer was made to Mr. Sako.
Stephen Ensor, attorney for Mr. Sako, did not respond to an Almanac request for comment.
Almanac graduation records show Mr. Sako as having graduated from Hillview Middle School in 2003 and from M-A in 2007.
The rape occurred on Oct. 31, 2008, at Oregon State at an off-campus Halloween fraternity party at which Mr. Sako was dressed as a beer bottle, Mr. Stringer said, and the victim, a 21-year-old college student from Portland, was dressed as Tinkerbell.
Both the victim and Mr. Sako admitted to drinking at the party, Mr. Stringer said.
The victim, whose identity is being protected, reported the incident to the Corvallis Police Department after visiting the hospital with a friend, Mr. Stringer said. Police arrested and jailed Mr. Sako on Nov. 1 and he was released on $250,000 bail on Nov. 5. He had been out of jail since then, Mr. Stringer said.
State’s evidence included the victim’s blood-soaked costume, photographs of blood-stained underwear from both the victim and Mr. Sako, medical testimony as to vaginal tearing, and a transcript of an interview Mr. Sako had with detectives in which he denied having sex and said he could not remember parts of the evening, Mr. Stringer said.
DNA found in Mr. Sako’s underwear was given one chance in 10 billion of not belonging to the victim, Mr. Stringer said.
The jury returned a guilty verdict after a four-day trial in which the prosecution presented 17 witnesses, including experts on medical examination, sex-abuse trauma and alcoholic blackout, Mr. Stringer said.
The defense, he said, presented two experts on medical examination and sex-abuse trauma, several members of Mr. Sako’s fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi, and a witness from California who testified as to Mr. Sako’s non-violent and lawful character.
Mr. Sako did not testify on his own behalf, but prosecutors played his interview with the detectives for the jury, Mr. Stringer said.
Asked to describe the trial, Mr. Stringer complimented the defense attorney. There were no personal attacks and both side conducted themselves professionally, he said, adding: “He fought really hard but he fought within the rules.”
The jury deliberated about five hours before reaching the verdict. Mr. Stringer would not say if the decision was unanimous, only that Oregon law requires the agreement of 10 out of 12 jurors.
