A convicted serial rapist and former Morgan Hill resident was sentenced to more than 300 years in prison for sexually assaulting six women in the South Bay.
Earlier this year, following a jury trial, Damou Evans, 49, of Morgan Hill, was convicted on 19 sexual assault counts related to the six victims, according to authorities. All but one of the counts was a felony.
On July 10, Evans—who was a registered sex offender when he raped the women who testified in the recent trial—was sentenced to 390 years in prison.
Evans was arrested on the recent charges at his Morgan Hill home in August 2016. He was arrested after San Jose police conducted an investigation into allegations from a woman who said Evans had raped her multiple times in one evening.
After this arrest was publicized, six more female victims came forward to report that Evans had assaulted them in a similar manner, according to authorities.
Evans’ case ultimately went to trial earlier this year in a San Jose courtroom. He was found guilty of raping six of the victims who accused him, said Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Michael Gilman, who prosecuted the case for the DA’s office.
The women testified during the trial that Evans raped them while they were unconscious due to intoxication or after they were surreptitiously drugged, Gilman said. Evans was a South Bay club promoter when the incidents happened. In each of the incidents, Evans would serve alcoholic drinks to the women, who later woke up to Evans assaulting them.
“Several of the women said they felt like they were drugged,” Gilman said.
The rapes happened at different locations in San Jose, and Gilman said one of the incidents was caught on a hidden video camera.
Specifically, Evans was found guilty of multiple counts of rape by an intoxicating, anesthetic or controlled substance, rape of an unconscious victim and other sexual assault charges. He was not tried on accusations related to one of the seven reporting victims because the judge earlier this year determined there was not enough evidence for the woman’s case to go to trial.
On July 10, Evans was sentenced to 390 years in prison. The sentence was multiplied by the number of victims and charges, and compounded by the fact that Evans is a “three-striker,” Gilman said. In 2000, Evans was convicted of raping two women.
Because of the previous convictions, Evans was a registered sex offender when he raped the victims who testified in the recent trial, Gilman said.
Gilman said it’s possible that there are even more victims who have been raped by Evans but haven’t told police.
“He’s a serial rapist, and this sentence will hopefully protect women in the community,” Gilman said.
