Newbury Park Sex Offender Gets 21 Years

A 20-year-old Newbury Park man was sentenced Thursday to 21 years in state prison for rape, sexual battery and several other sex crimes stemming from five attacks at and near a local high school.

Chad Lawrence Schmidt pleaded guilty in May to 12 felonies, including the rape of a woman at knifepoint in a Newbury Park High School bathroom and attacks on four other victims near the school in late 1996.

Schmidt was a 17-year-old student at the high school when he committed the crimes.

“This is a tremendous thing for the victims,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Lisa West said. “He pleaded before trial, so they didn’t have to go through the trial, which would be extremely difficult. And the fact that he got the maximum sentence--they will feel vindicated that the court recognized the seriousness of what happened to them.

“They will feel safer for a lot longer,” she said.

Along with the maximum sentence, Schmidt must pay restitution and register as a sexual offender for the rest of his life.

One of the victims and the mother of the girl who was raped were in court Thursday to urge the judge to give the maximum sentence.

“I ask you not to forget this was premeditated, conscious and violent,” the mother said. “I ask for full justice. Keep him away from others as long as legally possible.”

The attacks, which took place between Sept. 3 and Nov. 5, 1996, all occurred in public places within a quarter-mile of Schmidt’s home. Two happened on the high school campus and the others in or near Borchard Park.

Schmidt initially pleaded not guilty to 22 felony and misdemeanor charges. But facing a possible life sentence, he pleaded guilty to 12 felonies, including rape, sexual battery, false imprisonment and assault with intent to commit rape and sodomy. He will be given credit for the time he has already served while in custody since November 1996.

Deputy Public Defender Robert Willey argued for a reduced sentence, in part because Schmidt had not previously been convicted of any crimes.

“The string [of crimes] merits a sentence of 15 to 17 years,” he said. “I’m not asking the court for a light sentence; 15 to 17 years means he will spend the bulk of his adult life incarcerated.”

Possible recidivism should not be considered in the sentencing, Willey said.

“We have a 17-year-old, now older, with no prison record and with a strong support system after treatment in a structured environment for years and years and years,” he said. “I’m simply asking the court to focus on the law and follow it in the appropriate fashion.”

While Schmidt was a minor at the time of the attacks, he was prosecuted as an adult because of the seriousness of the crimes, said West, who described him as a “sophisticated” rapist.

“At 17, he had already matured into a full-blown predator who attacked on public streets, parks and schools,” she said. “This man is an extreme danger to society. He was truly out of control over the eight-week period and became increasingly more aggressive, threatening and violent.”

The mother of the girl who was raped said her daughter did not want to appear in court and feel like a victim. She said the girl had suffered enough humiliation and degradation.

“She can never have what you took--her sense of innocence,” she said. “She didn’t do anything wrong. Just because [she] is not a broken-down victim today is no reason to let Chad walk free.”

The girl who appeared in court was attacked while jogging in the park. A maximum sentence would help protect the community, she said.

“I was one of the lucky ones who got off easy,” she said. “I hope one day when he is released, he will be able to finally act like a normal human being.”