Man convicted of 2 sexual assaults

A Costa Mesa man has been convicted of two sexual assaults, nearly two years after he was arrested following the attacks at the apartment complex where he lived.

Jose Fernandez Lopez, 34, faces a life term in state prison and is expected to be sentenced April 20 by a Superior Court judge. He was arrested following the sexual assaults, which occurred in 2004 and 2005, of two women in the Newport Village Apartments complex on West Baker Street.

In June 2005, Lopez was one of 125 men in the complex who gave DNA samples to the police. He was arrested the following month when police said the evidence linked him to the attacks.

Kristen Moore, the manager of Newport Village, said that after the assaults, apartment managers invited police to talk to residents about safety measures. Both attacks reportedly occurred on the ground floor when the victims left doors and windows open or unlocked. Since the second attack, Moore said, the complex has had no major incidents.

“We do the precautions that we can,” Moore said Friday. “We’d like to do more, but all we can do is tell them to keep their doors locked and look out for others.”

About Lopez’s conviction, Moore added, “I’m glad that it’s over.”

According to the website for the state attorney general, three registered sex offenders live in the Newport Village complex, although Moore said one of them recently moved out. Nevertheless, Lt. Dale Birney of the Costa Mesa Police Department said he didn’t usually consider the complex a trouble spot.

He summarized his department’s reaction to Lopez’s conviction in two words: “Very happy.”