SAN FRANCISCO -- A 19-year-old man convicted in the kidnapping and sexual abuse of a 3-year-old girl will serve the rest of his life in prison, despite a California Youth Authority evaluation that he is capable of rehabilitation.
Judge Robert Dossee sentenced Alex Cabarga Tuesday to 208 years for 93 counts involving the abduction and sexual crimes against Tara Burke. Cabarga would not be eligible for parole until he has served 104 years.
Luis 'Tree Frog' Johnson, 34, was sentenced to 527 years in the same case last January on 100 separate counts of kidnapping, assault and sex charges. Cabarga's mother relinquished control of her son to Johnson at age 9 and the two lived together in a van.
Tara was kidnaped Feb. 6, 1982, when she was a few months short of her third birthday, from her parents' car in a Concord shopping center. She was held captive for 10 months until Mac Lin, an 11-year-old Vietnamese boy who also was captive, escaped and led police to the van to end a highly publicized nationwide search. In the vehicle were found two home movies and hundreds of pictures of Tara participating in sex acts.
An attorney for Cabarga argued that his actions were committed under Johnson's influence and that Cabarga was capable of rehabilitation.
But Dossee refused to send Cabarga to the California Youth Authority even though an evaluator found him 'amenable' to rehabilitation because 'he could very well constitute a danger to the safety of the youngsters there. He's been diagnosed as a pedophile, one who seeks sexual gratification from children.
'It's hard to find a case with more serious questions and damnifying evidence,' Dossee added. 'I can't recall a case that's demonstrated such degrading and sadistic conduct. I hope the effect of the sentence is to prevent Mr. Cabarga from ever hurting a child again.'
