A serial rapist who terrorized women at one of America's biggest party schools will spend 30 years to life in prison — but only after the system let him walk free long enough to sprint out of a courtroom the moment a jury convicted him.
Arian Eteghaei, 24, was sentenced Monday by Judge Von Deroian for sexually assaulting five women and battering a sixth while he was a freshman at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The New York Post reported that jurors convicted him January 16 of forcible rape, forcible sexual penetration, and misdemeanor domestic violence, with a special finding that he targeted multiple victims.
Here's what should outrage every American: Eteghaei was out on bail when that verdict came down. His own attorney had argued he should stay free until sentencing. And the moment the guilty verdict was read, Eteghaei proved exactly why that was a terrible idea — he bolted. While deputies were handcuffing him, he took off running toward State Street in downtown Santa Barbara, shouting profanities. A bailiff lunged but couldn't control him. It took a second officer and two bystanders to tackle him to the ground.
The Post noted the escape attempt but didn't dwell on the obvious question: why was a man accused of raping multiple women allowed to walk free before trial in the first place? The Dallas Morning News, the other outlet provided, ran an unrelated story about a Dallas school renovation and offered nothing on this case.
Santa Barbara County Prosecutor Savrnoch praised the victims after sentencing. "This case would not have been possible without the extraordinary courage of the victims who came forward and participated in a long and difficult legal process," Savrnoch said, according to the Post. "Their strength and willingness to testify allowed the truth to be heard and ultimately allowed the defendant to be held accountable for the serious harm he caused."
Savrnoch added: "This case required years of persistence, careful investigation, and tremendous support for the victims."
Years. Multiple victims. And the accused was walking around on bail the entire time. That's not a justice system protecting the public — that's a justice system gambling with women's safety and getting lucky the damage wasn't worse.
The Post framed Eteghaei's courtroom sprint as a dramatic caper — a "bungling mad dash for freedom." But the real story isn't the escape attempt. It's that a freshman accused of serial sexual violence against at least six women was deemed safe enough to release back into the community. Nobody with that many accusers should have been anywhere but a cell awaiting trial.
Thirty years to life is a serious sentence. It came after a jury trial, victim testimony, and a man literally running from accountability. The question the system never answers: how many women were put at risk between the first assault and the day a jury finally forced consequences?
