A convicted sex offender with 8 misdemeanor convictions, now convicted of sixth felony, gets 6 years in prison for sexual assault of homeless woman

Defendant John Cory Imus, age 55, generally of Ukiah, was sentenced to 72 months in state prison this morning in the Mendocino County Superior Court.


The defendant was previously convicted by plea of assault with the intent to commit an unlawful sex act, a felony.

Because this particular conviction is deemed a violent felony, the custody credits the defendant may attempt to earn during his incarceration will be limited to no more than 15% of the sentence imposed.

The facts underlying the conviction are that defendant Imus, generally living a transient lifestyle, imposed himself on a homeless woman while the woman and her husband were sleeping on the streets during the early morning hours of June 24th.

 When the woman awakened to find the defendant’s hands where they had no permission to be, she screamed, frightening the defendant, and he ran away.

The woman and her husband immediately reported what had happened to law enforcement. Located later by the police, the defendant gave a full confession of his actions, as well as his lascivious intent.

Defendant Imus is no stranger to the criminal justice system.  The instant conviction now stands as his sixth felony conviction – four in the State of Washington and two here in California.  He also has eight prior misdemeanor convictions between the two states. Even prior to the most recent conviction, the defendant was already required to register regularly with law enforcement as a convicted sex offender.

The prosecutor who handled the case through plea (which happened on the day the trial was to commence) was Deputy District Attorney Caitlin Keane, now of the Solano County District Attorney’s Office.

Noting that defendant Imus is a threat to local public safety, DA David Eyster appeared this morning and argued in support of the six year sentence, the maximum sentence allowed for this particular criminal offense.

The investigating law enforcement agency was the Ukiah Police Department.  The case was conducted before Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Ann Moorman.