Man gets 107 years for sexual assault on two women in their homes

An Orange County Superior Court judge Friday sentenced an Irvine mechanic to 107 years in prison for breaking into the homes of two women and sexually assaulting them.

Judge Sheila Hanson called Travis Dewayne Batten, 32, a dangerous man who needed to be put behind bars forever to prevent him from hurting anyone else, according to a news release from the Orange County district attorney’s office.

In 2005, Batten put on a mask, broke into the house of a 40-year-old Newport Beach woman and waited for her to return home, prosecutors said.

Batten then duct taped her hands and mouth, sexually assaulted her, punched her twice in the head and warned her not to call police, according to the district attorney’s office.

In 2006, Batten again donned a mask and broke into the home of a 21-year-old Irvine woman while she was showering, prosecutors said.

Batten waited outside the bathroom for the victim, threw her to the ground, tied her hands and raped her twice, according to the district attorney’s office.

Newport Beach and Irvine police connected the two cases through DNA left by Batten at the scenes and arrested him in 2011 while he was heading to work at Fletcher Jones Motorcars in Newport.

In March, a jury convicted Batten of two felony counts of forcible rape, one felony count each of assault with intent to commit a sexual offense, assault with intent to commit a sexual offense during the commission of first-degree burglary, sodomy by force, sexual penetration by foreign object by force, and kidnapping to commit a sex offense.

One of Batten’s victims submitted a statement to be considered during Friday’s sentencing. According to the district attorney’s news release, she said Batten’s crime could have destroyed her, but instead she chose to be defined by her successes.