An Isla Vista businessman is facing a lengthy prison sentence after pleading guilty to multiple felony counts stemming from sexual assaults against two women in 2017.
Patrick Galoustian, 47, entered the guilty pleas last week before Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge James Herman.
Galoustian is the owner of iVMenus, a food-delivery service that shut down following his arrest in December 2017.
He was accused in a 35-count criminal complaint of committing numerous sexual acts against two women — identified in court as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 — in November and December of 2017, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Karapetian.
Prosecutors alleged that the victims were highly intoxicated or unconscious at the time Galoustian committed the acts, which included oral copulation, sexual penetration by a foreign object and sodomy.
He also was accused of making criminal threats against both women.
Galoustian is expected to receive a sentence of 18 years in state prison, and will have to register as a sex offender for life, Karapetian told Noozhawk.
As part of their case, prosecutors obtained videos involving Jane Doe 1 taken at Galoustian’s Isla Vista residence, and of Jane Doe 2 taken at her Los Angeles residence, Karapetian said.
Under a plea agreement reached with the District Attorney’s Office, she said, Galoustian pleaded guilty to eight felony counts.
They included three counts of oral copulation of an unconscious person, one count of sexual penetration by a foreign object, one count of sodomy of an intoxicated person, one count of oral copulation with a person prevented from resisting due to intoxication, and two counts of making criminal threats.
The remaining counts will be dismissed at sentencing, which is scheduled for Jan. 29.
The plea bargain was reached after consulting with the victims in this case, Karapetian said.
“The victims wanted to put this extremely traumatic experience behind them, and move forward with their lives,” she said. “The stress and anxiety of having to testify against their assailant was something they were not looking forward to.
“This plea agreement ensured that the defendant would be found guilty of the acts he committed upon them. The victims can now focus on working toward healing.”
Two of the counts to which Galoustian pleaded guilty are “serious felony strike convictions,” Karapetian said, which means that upon release, if he commits any new qualifying felony offense, he would be looking at a minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
Galoustian remains in custody at County Jail, with bail set at $1 million.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.