Man pleads no contest in Craigslist ad assault

A Corona del Mar man will have to serve 90 days in jail if he violates probation in the next five years after assaulting a woman in his home, prosecutors said.

Corey Katir, 48, pleaded no contest Tuesday to felony false imprisonment and misdemeanor battery after he was arrested for sexually assaulting a woman half his age when she went to his house to respond to a Craigslist ad he had for a room to rent.

Katir was sentenced to five years’ formal probation and 90 days in jail. He will have to serve the jail time if only he violates his probation. Among the requirements, he is not allowed to contact the woman, prosecutors said.

On Sept. 24, the woman went to Katir’s home in Corona del Mar to check out the room he had listed online for $690 as a “cottage near the ocean.” While there, Katir began rubbing her shoulders and when she got up to leave, he grabbed her and dragged her into a bedroom and assaulted her.

He was arrested days later.

— Joseph Serna