A Chattanooga man was sentenced to 25 years for burglarizing a woman’s home to take items from her laundry hamper, the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
Ruben Santos, 40, was found guilty of first-degree burglary, the statement said. He was sentenced to 25 years, and the first 15 years must be served in a Georgia prison.
“The home should be a sanctuary from the outside world,” District Attorney Clayton Fuller said in the statement. “This creeper violated that sanctity in the most vile of ways, and Assistant District Attorney [Deanna] Reisman and her team have found him a new home to spend time in — prison.”
A Catoosa County jury convicted Santos in March after evidence was presented during the course of a two-day trial, the statement said.
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Santos was a longtime family friend of the victim, a 25-year-old woman, the statement said. He befriended her while they were co-workers and also became a friend of the victim’s father.
“Santos repeatedly expressed interest in engaging in a romantic relationship with the victim over the course of several years but was rejected,” the statement said.
He became more brash to the point where she avoided being at the home she shared with her parents when Santos would come to visit them.
Santos then stole a house key from the victim’s mother in July, the statement said. After the key went missing, the family started to notice items missing from the home.
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The victim became suspicious, so she installed a surveillance camera in her bedroom, the statement said. Santos was caught on camera in her bedroom the very next day. He rummaged through her laundry hamper, selected multiple pairs of underwear and placed them on his face and in his mouth, the statement said. He engaged in sexual acts and took two pairs with him in his pocket.
“The victim provided emotional testimony as to how Santos had destroyed her sense of security in her own home,” the statement said. “The jury was able to view the videos depicting Santos’ conduct in the victim’s bedroom.”
Santos will be banished from the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit area and required to comply with all sex offender conditions after he is released from prison.
— Compiled by Sofia Saric