A Sacramento Superior Court judge slammed convicted rapist Frank Rackley Sr. with a life-long sentence this morning as his two victims and their supporters looked on.
In May, a jury convicted Rackley, a career criminal with a history that dates back to his days as a teenager, of two counts of forcible rape and two other counts of sexual assault. For those crimes, plus special allegations found to be true and because of prior strikes, Judge Greta Curtis Fall handed down a sentence of 141 years to life.
Rackley's victims, 16 and 30 at the time of the attacks, were working as prostitutes when he picked them up. The victims attended today's sentencing but did not speak. They left the courtroom and were quietly congratulated, hugged and kissed by supporters in the courthouse elevator.
The case received national publicity after the District Attorney's Office had the younger victim, then 17, jailed to ensure she would appear in court to testify against Rackley. She had missed two previous appearances, forcing prosecutors to toss out charges against Rackley. They later filed new charges.
The juvenile victim ultimately testified, and was applauded by Deputy District Attorney Alan Van Stralen as being "very, very courageous."
Rackley has been in prison twice before for previous felony convictions. At the time of the attacks, he was on parole and had evaded supervision, making him a "parolee-at-large."
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