Man Gets 40 Years To Life Behind Bars For 2 O.C. Rapes, One Of Laguna Beach Woman

ORANGE COUNTY, CA -- A Laguna Niguel man was sentenced today to 40 years to life in prison for raping two women, including an ex-girlfriend, in Orange County.

Babak "Bobby'' Azadgilani, 29, raped a Laguna Beach woman in her home and the ex-girlfriend in the Laguna Niguel home he shared with his father.

The then-41- and 22-year-old victims did not know each other, but the attacks had multiple similarities, according to Deputy District Attorney Lexie Elliott.

"He's very persistent with his victims and he doesn't take no for an answer. He persists and persists until they're alone... and he strangles them and hits them in the face,'' the prosecutor told jurors. "He uses just as much
violence as necessary to get what he wants.''

Azadgilani was convicted in February of two counts of rape and one count of forcible oral copulation, and jurors found true sentencing enhancements for multiple victims and the use of a knife in one of the attacks. He was
acquitted of a felony count of forced sodomy.

The defendant met the older woman in 2009 at the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant where he worked and pestered her for her phone number, Elliott said.

The woman eventually agreed to meet him near Main Beach in downtown Laguna Beach, a few blocks from where she lived, but brushed him off after he got "aggressive'' while trying to kiss her, the prosecutor said.

They met again by chance in Laguna in April 2013 as she was walking her dogs, Elliott said, and Azadgilani apologized for his previous pushy behavior and got her to agree to get together on a future date. The next time they saw each other, he walked the woman home and talked his way into her residence, where he choked, slapped and raped her, Elliott said.

The other victim told police in May 2013 that her ex-boyfriend raped her after she agreed to meet him at his home, Elliott said. The two had dated for about three to four years before breaking up.

When the woman told the defendant they could never get back together again, Azadgilani choked her to the point of popping blood vessels in her eye, slapped her across the face and held a knife to her neck before raping her, Elliott said.

Defense attorney Jack Earley said Azadgilani was "into at least a little bit of kinky sex'' but denied his client forced himself on the women.

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• Man Found Guilty in Laguna Beach Rape
• Laguna Rape Suspect Pleads Not Guilty
• Police Seek Additional Victims of Laguna Beach Rape Suspect

--City News Service