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A man from Dublin was sentenced to 30 years to life in state prison last week after being convicted of committing sexual assaults while he was a student at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Arian Eteghaei, now 24, was found guilty in January of raping two victims, felony forcible sexual penetration and misdemeanor domestic violence, plus a special allegation of multiple victims was found to be true – while the jury could not reach verdicts on 14 other counts. The case made headlines when Eteghaei tried to make a mad dash in handcuffs soon after the verdict.
“This case would not have been possible without the extraordinary courage of the victims who came forward and participated in a long and difficult legal process,” Santa Barbara County District Attorney John T. Savrnoch said in a news release after the sentencing Aug. 10.
“Their strength and willingness to testify allowed the truth to be heard and ultimately allowed the defendant to be held accountable for the serious harm he caused,” the DA added.
Attorney Andrew Flier, part of the defense team during the trial, did not respond to the Pleasanton Weekly’s request for comment last week. The lawyer previously said Eteghaei, who denied all allegations against him, planned to appeal his conviction.
Eteghaei, a former athlete at Dublin High School and student of UC Santa Barbara, was initially arrested in 2021 at Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport and charged with sexually assaulting 11 women while at college.
The case ultimately went to trial late last year, with the proceedings spanning three months until the jurors rendered their verdicts on Jan. 20 – and told the judge they couldn’t reach consensus on the remaining 14 counts.
Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Von Deroian handed down the sentence during a hearing Aug. 10.
In addition to praising the strength of the survivors, Savrnoch credited the efforts of his team, the UC Police Department and the county’s victim-witness advocates.
“This case required years of persistence, careful investigation, and tremendous support for the victims. The collective work of this team exemplifies the commitment of law enforcement, prosecutors, investigators, and victim advocates to seeking justice for survivors of sexual violence,” the DA stated.
