Man sentenced to prison for raping girl in Santa Ana park

A man who raped a 14-year-old girl at a Santa Ana park and later attacked a woman at a motel was sentenced Friday to 51 years to life in prison.

Cornelio Chairez-Velasquez, 37, was convicted earlier this year of rape and assault, among other charges, Orange County Superior Court records show.

Santa Ana officers in January arrested Chairez-Velasquez after reports that he had attacked a woman at a motel, trying to sexually assault her and then choking her.

After the alleged attack, Chairez-Velasquez’s DNA was submitted to a police database. That turned up a DNA hit tying him to a violent incident several months prior at Cabrillo Park on Fruit Street.

According to police, Chairez-Velasquez targeted a girl who was sitting on a bench. He sat down next to her, police said, and when she tried to leave threatened her with a knife before choking her, punching her and sexually assaulting her.

Detectives released a composite sketch of the suspect, but it wasn’t until the DNA hit that they tied Chairez-Velasquez to the incident.