'Austin Powers' actor sentenced to life in jail for rape, torture

Los Angeles, Sept 10 (ANI): An actor best known for his part in the hit 1997 film 'Austin Powers' has been sentenced to life in prison in connection with the 1990 abduction and gang rape of a 20-year-old California woman.

Joseph Hyungmin Son was found guilty Aug. 25 of felony torture, an offence that carries a life term without possibility of parole.

The actor was originally charged three years ago with numerous sex crimes but because of a statute of limitations, prosecutors eventually won a conviction on torture.

According to prosecutors, a woman walking back to her apartment alone with her dog after going to look at Christmas lights with a relative and friend was stopped by Son about 12:30 a.m. on Christmas Eve 1990.

The two men asked the woman for directions and then abducted her, the Times reported.

The pair sexually assaulted the victim and threatened to kill her, counting out bullets as she pleaded for her life. She was eventually released naked, with her pants tied around her eyes.

While physical evidence was gathered in the case from the sexual assault, the case went cold.

Son, however, was convicted in May 2008 of felony vandalism in an unrelated case and was forced to give a DNA sample. That sample was then linked to DNA collected in the 1990 case, prosecutors said.

The victim told the judge before sentencing Friday that she suffers daily post-traumatic stress disorder, reports Latimes.

"My emotional scars are intense. My 20s were stripped from my life as I relearned how to walk, see, hear and cope with the outside world again.

Son's co-accused was sentenced to more 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to kidnapping, rape and other charges. (ANI)

null