NEW YORK -- A judge Wednesday sentenced a man to up to 137 years in prison for raping and sodomizing two women he immobilized with an animal tranquilizer that left his victims conscious of the attacks.
Richard Esposito, 40, of the Bronx, was sentenced to the maximum term possible after District Attorney John Santucci said the defendant had 'led a life of crime and showed no remorse.'
Esposito was convicted last month on four counts of rape and four counts of sodomy in the attack on two women who he lured out of a bar after spiking their drinks with the drug ketamine, an animal tranquilizer.
Ketamine is an anesthtic used by veterinarians to tranquilize dangerous animals. When it is used on humans they remain conscious, but have trouble breathing and controlling their behavior.
The attack occurred in a parking lot of a Sheraton hotel near La Guardia Airport on July 11, 1984.
Authorities said prosecutors are investigating at least 14 other cases in which ketamine has been used to subdue and rape women.
Under the sentence of 68 to 137 years in prison imposed by State Supreme Court Judge Vincent Naro, Esposito will not become eligible for parole until the year 2025, said Tom McCarthy, a spokesman for Santucci.
'This is a particularly horrendous case that has left emotional scars on both victims,' Santucci told the judge.
Police apprehended Esposito in Yonkers after he was stopped for running a traffic light five days after the incident, McCarthy said. After noticing a rifle, they searched the car and found what they believed to be cocaine.
The white powder turned out to be ketamine and linked Esposito to the two rapes, McCarthy said. Possession of the drug is legal.
Two other men arrested with Esposito testified against him and will be sentenced later this month, he said, adding Esposito has a criminal record dating back to 1961 with 27 arrests and one prior felony conviction.
