Legal Problems
Son pleaded guilty to felony vandalism in 2008 and was placed on probation. As a condition of his plea agreement, Son was required to provide a DNA sample. In 2008, the DNA sample was linked to a 1990 gang rape. Already in custody for a probation violation, Son was arrested at the Theo Lacy facility on October 7, 2008.
In October 2008, Son was charged by California authorities in relation to his participation in a 1990 gang rape. He was initially charged in Orange County, California, with five counts of rape, two felony counts of forcible sodomy, two felony counts of sodomy in concert by force, seven felony counts of forcible oral copulation, and one felony count of sexual penetration by foreign object by force. He faced a maximum sentence of 275 years to life if convicted.
Son and an accomplice tortured and repeatedly raped the victim before releasing her with her underwear tied around her eyes. During the trial the woman said Son told her: 'It's Christmas. This is your lucky day.'
Before jury selection began for his trial in early August 2011, the initial charges against Son were dropped having expired due to the statute of limitations. Son was then charged with conspiracy to commit torture and murder, crimes which have no statute of limitations. In late August, Son was found guilty of one felony count of torture.
During the trial, the Orange County District Attorney's Office maintained that both Son and his co-defendant, Santiago Lopez Gaitan, pistol-whipped their female victim, threatened to kill her repeatedly, and raped her before finally releasing her. His co-defendant in the case Santiago Gaitan, 40, pleaded guilty to rape, kidnapping and other charges, and was sentenced to 17 years and four months in prison. In September 2011, Son was sentenced to life in prison. In October 2011, Son was accused of killing his cellmate, a convicted sex offender. Son has been charged with a First Degree Murder in Wasco State Prison where he allegedly killed a sexual offender. The case is still pending and Joe Son will stand trial. The murder happened on October 10, 2011, on "B" Yard Reception, building 5.
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