NorCal rapist’s 900-year-to-life sentence reduced under new state laws, now eligible for elder parole
By Michelle Bandur
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) — The Berkeley man known as the “NorCal rapist” who terrorized women for 15 years had his nearly 900-year prison sentence reduced due to new state laws, making him eligible for elder parole and raising concerns among his victims.
New state laws were passed after Waller’s trial and prison sentence.
Two of Waller’s nine victims, each attacked in 1991 and 1992, returned to the Sacramento County Courthouse.
“I fought for 27 years until he was arrested after he committed his crimes against me, 29 years to make sure that he served the punishment that he deserved for what he had done to all of these people,” said Nicole Ernest-Payte, believed to be Waller’s first victim.
She remembers the night of her attack every day.
“Woke up at night, after it was dark and there was a masked man in my house with his arm around my neck and a gun to my head,” she said.
Over 15 years, Waller broke into women’s homes in six Northern California counties, and DNA evidence finally connected him to the sexual assaults.
He faced 46 counts, resulting in guilty verdicts and a 2020 sentence of 897 years to life.
Ernest-Payte expressed relief at the time.
“I’m done. He’s gone. I never have to think of him for one second of my life, and that is the greatest relief I could ever, ever feel,” she said in 2020.
However, the recent developments have been unsettling for her and the other victims.
“It’s intrusive. It draws a lot of things back up again,” she said.
During Waller’s appeal, one of the charges was changed from kidnapping to false imprisonment, which scheduled Wednesday’s resentencing hearing with Judge James Arguelles.
Arguelles was the trial and original sentencing judge.
With the lesser charge, the judge reduced Waller’s sentence by 39 years to 858 years to life.
Waller, 65, is also eligible for elder parole, a program that allows for the release of inmates, age 50 and older, who serve 20 years of their sentence.
“If somebody is bedbound and unable to actually do something, the Department of Corrections could release them through a compassionate release. But the legislature has an act on something called elder parole, which makes people eligible for release as young as in their 50s,” said Chris Orr, Assistant Chief District Attorney for Sacramento County.
Orr prosecuted Waller in 2020.
Waller must serve 20 years of his now 858-year sentence to be considered for elder parole.
“There’s some irony in the fact that if you’re a victim of elder abuse, you have to be age 65,” said Orr. “But if you’re somebody who commits nine different rapes over 15 years, you only have to be age 50 to be considered elderly.”
Victims are now facing the reality of Waller’s potential release in about 14 years.
“This man was caught at 58 years old. When he was arrested, he had a backpack full of equipment ready to go to rape someone else at 58. So how elderly was he?” said Ernest-Payte.
Judge Arguelles shared similar concerns.
Talking about Waller, Arguelles said, “If he’s not a danger to society, then I don’t know what a danger to society is,” and that Arguelles expressed certainty that if Waller is released, he would harm more victims.
He also had harsh words for the legislature.
“They seem to be more worried about defendants’ rights than victims’ rights,” he said in court.
Waller’s defense attorney refused comment leaving court.
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