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'Austin Powers' Actor Gets Life Sentence for Role in 1990 Gang Rape
A mixed martial arts fighter who appeared as Dr. Evil's handyman in the hit comedy "Austin Powers" has been sentenced to life in prison for his role in the 1990 Christmas Eve gang rape of a 20-year-old Orange County woman.
Joseph Hyungmin Son, now 40, was convicted in August. Today a judge sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
DNA linked Son to the crime in 2008, when he was arrested.
The crime took place on December 24, 1990, when the victim was walking in her neighborhood with her dog, on her way back to her apartment after going to look at Christmas lights. Son feigned being lost, and asked the victim for directions as a distraction tactic; he and another suspect then dragged the woman to their car, and drove away. The victim's purse was found at the scene of the abduction, but her dog was never found again.
During the abduction, the suspects pistol whipped the victim, and threatened to kill her. Son repeatedly raped and sodomized the victim and forced her to perform oral sex on him in the back of the car. He also penetrated her with a firearm.
The victim was let go, naked with her pants tied around her eyes.
Many of the counts initially filed against Son had to be dropped because the statute of limitations had expired.
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"A co-defendant in the case pleaded guilty to rape, kidnapping and other charges, and was sentenced to 17 years in and four months in prison," adds KTLA.
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