Man who sexually assaulted couple in their Palm Springs condo sentenced

A probationer convicted of breaking into a Palm Springs condominium and sexually assaulting a married couple in their bed has been sentenced to 37 years to life behind bars.

Thomas Dean Mabe, 49, was found guilty in March of two counts each of assault with intent to commit rape and elder abuse, as well as sexual battery, oral copulation of a sleeping victim, and burglary.

The sentence was handed down Tuesday by a Riverside County Superior Court judge, according to John Hall, a spokesman for the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors said Mabe broke into a Mesquite Avenue condo belonging to
a 71-year-old man and 69-year-old woman about 3 a.m. on April 21, 2016, slipped into their bed while they slept and began sexually assaulting them.

The victims were identified as John and Jane Doe in court documents.

The break-in occurred just over a month after Mabe was placed on three years probation for trying to grab a 16-year-old girl as she was walking in the 1600 block of San Lorenzo Road. She told authorities that Mabe approached and tried to engage her in conversation, then moved aggressively toward her in an attempt to grab her.

She was not physically harmed and Mabe was located less than an hour later in the 500 block of Sunrise Way.

Court records show he pleaded guilty in 2017 to a misdemeanor count of failing to register as a sex offender, which he had been ordered to do the previous year.