A 19-year-old woman in Huntington Beach, California was attacked outside of her apartment complex on Christmas Eve 1990. She was abducted, thrown into the truck of a car, tortured and raped repeatedly by two men. Eighteen years after the attack, DNA led police to actor Joe Son, who seven years after the brutal attack, played the James Bond parody villain Random Task in the 1997 film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.
Son and his friend Santiago Gaitan were arrested but by 2011 the statute of limitations for rape and kidnapping had expired. Son was then charged with conspiracy to commit torture and murder and was sentenced to life in prison. (Gaitan pleaded guilty to kidnapping and other charges and was sentenced to 17 years in prison.) One month after starting his life sentence at Salinas Valley State Prison, Son was accused of killing his cellmate, a sex offender. Son pleaded not guilty. His lawyer reportedly told the court that “Son had acted in self-defense and suffers from social and mental health issues.” The Kern County District Attorney decided not to pursue capital punishment. Son continues to serve his life sentence, now without a chance of parole. 48 Hours: Live to Tell: My Name is Victoria will air January 23 at 10pm on CBS.
