Salinas man sentenced to 61 years, 8 months after rape of teenage girl, 15

A 45-year old Salinas man is facing more than 61 years behind bars for the rape of a 15-year old girl.

A judge sentenced Tyrone Fowler on multiple counts, including rape, forcible oral copulation and criminal threats, according to Monterey County District Attorney Dean D. Flippo.

Fowler was out on parole for one year at the time of the sexual assault, following a first degree murder conviction in 1992.

The victim’s grandmother asked Fowler, not a relative, to pick-up the girl after she became sick at school in April, 2015.

Instead, Fowler took the girl back to his home where, according to the D.A.’s office, she fell asleep on the couch. Fowler sexually assaulted her while his wife was out of the house giving a ride to a friend. Also according to the D.A., Fowler threatened to kill the girl if she told anyone or screamed. Fowler sexually assaulted the girl again after his wife went to her bedroom.

Eventually, the girl ran out of the house and flagged down her mother who’d come to pick her up. An exam and DNA testing found that the girl had been sexually assaulted.