RINGGOLD, Ga. (WTVC) — Warning: Viewers may find the details of this story disturbing.
A 40-year-old man from Chattanooga who stole a house key to get access to the underwear of a woman who rejected his romantic advances is now under lock and key.
A jury in Catoosa County, Georgia convicted 40-year-old Ruben Santos back in March.
Santos was a longtime family friend of the victim, a 25-year-old woman, according to a release from Lookout Mountain Judicial District Attorney Clayton Fuller.
He befriended the woman when they were co-workers, and also became friends with the victim's father.
Over the years, Fuller says Santos repeatedly expressed interest in a romantic relationship with the victim, but she rejected his offers each time.
Fuller's release says
Santos became more brash in his attempts to kindle a relationship with the victim, to the point where the victim avoided being at the home she shared with her parents when Santos would visit.Last July, Fuller says Santos stole a house key from the woman's mother.
After the house key went missing, the victim and her family noticed items missing from their home when they got home from work in the evenings. The woman also noticed items of clothing in her bedroom were out of place.
Thinking something was up, the woman installed a surveillance camera in her bedroom.
The next day, as soon as the victim arrived at work, the camera system alerted her to motion detected in her bedroom.
The woman opened up her camera feed to find Santos entering her bedroom and rummaging through her laundry hamper, selecting several pairs of underwear.
Then, the feed showed Santos putting the underwear on his face and mouth, and then lying on the woman's bed while he pleasured himself.
Before leaving, the feed showed Santos putting 2 pairs of the victim's underwear in his pocket.
At trial, Fuller says the victim provided "emotional testimony as to how Santos had destroyed her sense of security in her own home."
The jury also viewed the lurid surveillance video.
After he was found guilty, a judge sentenced Santos to 20 years in state prison. He'll have to serve 15 of those years before the possibility of parole.
The home should be a sanctuary from the outside world,” said Fuller. “This creeper violated that sanctity in the most vile of ways, and ADA Reisman and her team have found him a new home to spend time in—prison.ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uLbAnKuvZpOkunC6xLCqaKaRqbawuoywpquklGTBprrNnqqsnZViuaq6xp6pop1dobywwMSrZKWnk6CypXnUqWSfp6JiwLWxwKWgp59dnby2v8Rmop6xXaSzbsPOppinZaedvG6%2BxKOcnKyVmXqzu8yapZydXafCo7HNZqqapqSkwG6vx5qrrZmepLyorYybrKufnJa%2FunnCqKWvoZOptrC6jJyYraefqK5ur86upa2xXajCs8LEoqOlmZ6Ysm6vwKacq5ldpa6vwMieqmakkaq7pb7YZp%2BapaCav26uxJ2pqKedYsCmxIyonZ%2Bdnpmysw%3D%3D