Portland man convicted of raping nine women gets 58 years in prison: ‘He simply did not care who he hurt’

A Portland man who preyed on his friends and used his connections as a club promoter to rape at least nine women was sentenced to more than 58 years in prison Friday.

Rafael Alcon-Ayala showed no remorse inside the Multnomah County Central Courthouse as five of those women described in person or in statements how they were physically helpless or unconscious when the now 32-year-old attacked them.

“Mr. Alcon-Ayala is a predator. He is a serial rapist. There is no other way to describe it,” Deputy District Attorney Nicole Hermann said during the hearing. “He simply did not care who he hurt.”

The prosecutor said Alcon-Ayala’s sex crimes continued even after he knew he was under investigation, had been confronted by his own girlfriend and was even compelled to provide a DNA sample to authorities with a warrant.

In court documents and the statements spoken or read aloud at court, the women described a pattern of behavior – saying they had planned to meet up with Alcon-Ayala for a drink but remembered little or nothing of what followed. Multiple women said they reported the crime and were treated at a hospital the next morning or shortly thereafter.

“Victims of rape have to live with these impacts for the rest of their lives. It’s only fair that rapists should endure the same punishment,” one of the women said in a recording played during the hearing. “Anything else is unjust and frankly insulting.”

According to court files, Gresham police officers first interviewed a woman who said she had been raped by Alcon-Ayala the night before in July 2016. Evidence of sexual assault was collected at the hospital the next day, the records say.

Portland police took similar reports in December 2017 and February 2018 from unrelated women who said they where raped by Alcon-Ayala. Evidence was collected at a hospital in both cases.

All three women said they knew Alcon-Ayala as a promoter for the now-defunct Dirty nightclub in downtown Portland.

It’s unclear whether authorities advanced the investigation until July 2019, when a fourth woman told Gresham police she had been raped by Alcon-Ayala the night before, according to court records. Evidence collection was completed at a hospital, and authorities also obtained surveillance footage.

After the warrant for his DNA turned up a match, Alcon-Ayala was arrested in January 2020, spurring numerous other women to come forward with allegations dating back to 2010.

He was ultimately charged in an indictment with raping or sexually abusing 12 women, but was acquitted in charges relating to one of the women. Two other women decided not to proceed with their cases after Alcon-Ayala was found guilty on multiple counts of first-degree rape and sex abuse over the course of two jury trials in September 2021 and this October.

During the sentencing hearing, defense attorney Alicia Hercher called for a punishment of 25 years, while the state sought a 68-year term in prison. Alcon-Ayala asked his attorney to read aloud a statement, which did not address his convictions but instead described himself as a former addict who had completed rehabilitation programs while in custody.

He apologized once – to his defense attorney – for the shoddy handwriting of the statement.

“I did not come here to beg for mercy. I expect the worst,” the statement said.

Multnomah County Circuit Judge Thomas Ryan then sentenced Alcon-Ayala to 58 years and four months in prison, with credit for time served but no ability to earn time off for good behavior. He will have to register for life as a sex offender.

The judge said he hoped the women who spoke during the hearing or sat in the benches would seek out help and find solace from the pain of what he called “raw acts of violence.”

“You deserve to feel safe again,” Ryan said. “The help you can get is not letting this horrific trauma, that almost defies words, from overly influence your life going forward.”