Sacramento County man who raped sex worker gets 27 years in prison, DA says
A Sacramento County man was sentenced to 27 years in prison for sexually assaulting a sex worker and holding her against her will in his home for an hour and a half before she could call police, prosecutors said.
A jury on Dec. 12 found Penijamini Vulolo Tuikubulau, 44, guilty of rape by using force or fear, false imprisonment and two counts of oral copulation by force, according to a news release from the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Ernest Sawtelle sentenced Tuikubulau on Monday. Deputy District Attorney Kate Martin of the Adult Sexual Assault Prosecution Unit prosecuted Tuikubulau.
On March 20, 2023, Tuikubulau responded to an advertisement on an escort website and arranged for a woman to come to his house and provide sexual services in exchange for money, prosecutors said.
When the woman arrived at Tuikubulau’s home, he attacked her and continued to assault her as she resisted, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said Tuikubulau raped the woman for the next 90 minutes. Tuikubulau then released the woman, who immediately reported the sexual assault to the Sacramento Police Department.
Shortly after, police officers went to Tuikubulau‘s home and found evidence corroborating the victim’s report, prosecutors said.
Officers arrested Tuikubulau and booked him at the Sacramento County Main Jail, where he remained in custody Thursday awaiting a transfer to a prison.
This story was originally published April 10, 2025 at 12:57 PM.
