SANTA ANA, Calif. – The Board of Parole Hearings, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, denied parole for seven years for a man who brutally sexually assaulted over a dozen women after breaking into their homes. Robin Dasenbrock, 53, is currently being held at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, California. In multiple cases, the inmate has been convicted of 15 felony counts of residential burglary, one count of attempted burglary, 12 counts of forcible rape, two counts of assault with intent to commit rape, two counts of forcible oral copulation, forcible penetration by foreign object, forcible sodomy, robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and misdemeanor battery. Sentencing enhancements for personal use of a deadly weapon in the commission of the assaults with intent to commit rape and in the assault with a deadly weapon were found true. Additionally, weapons enhancements were found true in a number of the cases. Prior to trial for the above noted offenses, the defendant pleaded guilty to attempted burglary, two counts of burglary, and two counts of misdemeanor prowling. Dasenbrock was sentenced on April 8, 1991, to 142 years and four months in state prison. The inmate will be eligible for his next parole hearing in 2025.

This was Dasenbrock's first parole hearing, and it was scheduled due to recent bills including Senate Bill 261. In the past four years there have been several legislative measures enacted into law regarding youth offender parole hearings, which are parole suitability hearings for an inmates who committed their controlling offense while under the age of 26. The Orange County District Attorney's Office (OCDA) opposed the parole and Deputy District Attorney Yvette Patko appeared on Thursday, May 31, 2018, to defend public safety and advocate for justice.

Circumstances of the Case

• Between November 1985 and April 1987, then-21-year-old Dasenbrock sexually assaulted at least a dozen women, many at knifepoint, in addition to committing several burglaries in Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach.
• On Nov. 9, 1985, the inmate went through Jane Doe 1's window in the middle of the night and forcibly raped her multiple times.
• One week later, Dasenbrock raped his neighbor Jane Doe 2. He went back to the victim's home 14 months later and sexually assaulted her again.
• In the early morning hours of Dec. 2, 1985, the inmate was perched on the inside ledge of Jane Doe 3's open bathroom window. Dasenbrock fled the scene when the victim began screaming.
• On March 27, 1986, Dasenbrock entered Jane Doe 4's window and the victim struggled to fight him off until he fled the scene.
• Jane Doe 5's home was burglarized by the inmate on Aug. 12, 1986, and her stolen VCR was later found at his home. Jane Doe 6's home was also burglarized by Dasenbrock that day.
• On Sept. 5, 1986, the inmate burglarized two women's homes and attempted to rape one of the victims, who struggled and screamed until he ran away.
• On Oct. 4, 1986, John Doe's home was burglarized by the inmate.
• Dasenbrock forcibly raped and burglarized the homes of five additional women throughout 1986.
• In 1987, Dasenbrock and again raped Jane Doe 2 while threatening to kill her and her young child.
• On two separate occasions, the inmate burglarized and attempted to rape Jane Doe 14 and Jane Doe 15. Each victim awoke to the defendant on top of them, but fought him off until he fled.
• On April 29, 1987, a Fountain Valley Police Department officer saw Dasenbrock hiding in the bushes outside of an apartment complex where a rape occurred the night before. The inmate was arrested and evidence, including fingerprints, connected him to the crimes.

Victim Impact Statement

One of Dasenbrock's victims wrote an impact statement, which was considered by the Parole Board. She stated in part, “I was a single mom with a 4-year-old daughter living in Huntington Beach, California. While dressing for work I had an encounter with Robin Scott Dasenbrock who entered my apartment … I realized I was in big trouble and that my daughter was in full view of the ensuing struggle … Mr. Dasenbrock gave me a final slam against the wall and ran back out the open sliding glass door.”

“Two weeks after this event Mr. Dasenbrock returned to my apartment … Mr. Dasenbrock busted up my back yard fence, tore up screens and took a window out of the widow slot. He stole about 70 dollars … this solidified my emotional terror and fearfulness of being left alone and unable to protect my daughter or myself.

“My life has been negatively impacted by the events of the attack and the incident two weeks later – to this day I struggle with PTSD. My fears of not being able to be safe or keep my daughter safe became my overriding focus in life.” The victim continued, “Mr. Dasenbrock is a serial rapist, and assault perpetrator of many women, many having small children at home at the time of their attack. His method of operation indicates to me that he is a person that has a dangerous pathology. I feel that Mr. Dasenbrock would be a high risk parolee with high likelihood of being triggered to repeat offend if allowed parole.”

Lack of Remorse and Rehabilitation

Dasenbrock represents a high risk for violence to this day. The clinical psychologist evaluating the inmate found, “His ability to fully accept the severity of his behavior and the harm caused to his victims was limited. He also demonstrated an inability to fully appreciate the level of sexual deviance indicated by these behaviors. Finally, Mr. Dasenbrock demonstrated little in the way of empathy for the lifelong trauma caused to his victims by his sexual aggression and callous disregard for these victims.” He deflects the sexual nature of his crimes and does not understand the deviance involved in the repetitive and sadistic rapes, and suggests he was a burglar who fulfilled the victims' sexual fantasies. While incarcerated, Dasenbrock has accumulated numerous disciplinary violations, the most recent issued in August 2013 for battery on an inmate. The inmate's other prison rules violations include two reports of fighting, escape paraphernalia, disobeying orders, manufacturing alcohol, and three reports of mutual combat, and an additional violation for battery on an inmate. Dasenbrock's has also repeatedly disobeyed or refused orders by possessing contraband, talking in the library, failing to follow instructions, possessing unauthorized food, refusing a medical appointment, and being out of bounds.

The Parole Board found Dasenbrock lacks empathy and remorse for his crimes. The crime was horrific, despicable and showed the highest level of brutality and total lack of regard for the victims. The defendant's ability to grasp the harm caused and the contributory factors was limited, as was his insight into his sexual deviance. He has not explored what lead his to the crimes, was not credible, and minimized his behaviors by saying the rapes were secondary to the burglaries. Dasenbrock did not take responsibility for his actions, including the crimes and his subsequent rule violations in prison.

*Inmate's parole hearing was scheduled due to recent youth offender hearing laws

Orange County District Attorney / June 4, 2018