Jailed Capitola Rapist To Be Sent To State Mental Hospital

Thomas August Towne, 50, was convicted more than 20 years ago for sexually assaulting three women and was sentenced to 39 years in prison.

Now he’s being sent to a state mental hospital, reported the Santa Cruz Sentinel. At a hearing this week, he was classified as a “sexually violent predator”, meaning there is probably cause the offender is likely to attack again.

Towne, a former bouncer in Capitola, assaulted two massage therapists at knifepoint, and another on Opal Cliffs Beach in broad daylight.