Local News in Brief : Ex-Janitor Gets Prison in Hospital Assaults

An Oxnard man was sentenced to 21 years in state prison for the sexual assault of four mentally and emotionally disabled women at Camarillo State Hospital where he worked as a janitor.

George Baker, 26, was found guilty by a jury last month on seven sexual assault charges and three charges of burglary with the intent to commit rape. Baker, who claimed he was a victim of mistaken identity, was sentenced Tuesday by Ventura County Superior Court Judge Joe Hadden.

Baker used his pass key to enter the dormitory where the victims slept in the early morning hours of Sept. 5, 1985, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert J. Ross. Then Baker woke each of the women, who ranged in age from 15 to 26, told them he was a doctor and sexually assaulted them, Ross said.

Police arrested Baker several hours later after one of the victims reported the attack to hospital authorities, Ross said.

Baker spent a year in the Atascadero State Hospital after his arrest before he was deemed fit to stand trial on the charges, his probation report said.