A serial rapist in Northern California whose crimes went undetected for nearly three decades was sentenced to 897 years in state prison on Friday.
Roy Charles Waller, 60, of Benicia had previously been convicted of raping nine women in their homes between 1991 and 2006 across six counties. Superior Court Judge James Arguelles agreed with a request by prosecutors that Waller receive the maximum penalty, saying he represented a "serious danger to society" and used "blatantly false testimony" during trial.
All nine victims testified in the trial. One woman said the day Waller was arrested was the first day she could take a shower without fear.
The Sacramento Bee reported that Waller, dubbed the "NorCal Rapist," showed no emotion Friday and sat with eyes closed during sentencing, declining to address the victims or the court.
DNA evidence from the crime scenes connected the rapes to a single suspect, but prosecutors said they were unable to identify Waller for years because his DNA was not in the state’s criminal offender database. In 2018, investigators were able to develop a specialized DNA profile and used genealogy websites to zero in on Waller, similar to the way the Golden State Killer was caught.
He was arrested in 2018 at UC Berkeley, where he was a longtime employee.
Investigators found bags filled with duct tape, zip ties, handcuffs and other items used in the attacks in Waller’s storage lockers.
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