"He's a Public Servant": Survivor Victor Hayes Addresses DeAngelo and the Auburn Police, 2020

Name: "He's a Public Servant": Survivor Victor Hayes Addresses DeAngelo and the Auburn Police, 2020
Uploaded: 2020-08-19T00:00:00Z
Duration: 1 min 16 s
Description: Survivor Victor Hayes, the last speaker on the first day of victim statements, called out DeAngelo's former employer, the Auburn Police Department, in court on August 18, 2020.

Survivor Victor Hayes, the last speaker on the first day of victim statements, called out DeAngelo's former employer, the Auburn Police Department, in court on August 18, 2020.

Subject: Joseph James DeAngelo
Recorded: about August 18, 2020
Runtime: 1:16

Content warning: Refers to a 1977 attack on the speaker and his girlfriend. No graphic detail.

The Interview

This is not an interview with Joseph James DeAngelo, who is not heard in it. It is a 1:16 news report by Sacramento station CBS13 on the victim impact statement of Victor Hayes, a survivor of a 1977 East Area Rapist attack, on August 18, 2020. It includes excerpts of his statement in court and a short interview with him afterward.

Historical Context

Between the mid-1970s and 1986 the man later called the Golden State Killer committed dozens of rapes and at least 13 murders across California. In the Sacramento area in the late 1970s he was known as the East Area Rapist. Joseph James DeAngelo, arrested on April 24, 2018, served as a police officer in Exeter from 1973 to 1976 and in Auburn from 1976 to 1979, during the period of the Sacramento-area attacks.

Circumstances

Victor Hayes and his girlfriend were attacked in 1977 at his home in Sacramento County. At the June 2020 plea hearing he stood and said he did not want to be a John Doe, and he has spoken publicly under his own name. On August 18, 2020, the first of four days of victim impact statements and sentencing before Judge Michael Bowman, he was the last speaker.

What the Recording Covers

Hayes tells the court that "this case is different than the other cases" and calls DeAngelo's conduct "despicable," "immature" and "disgusting." The reporter explains that Hayes also used the moment to call out DeAngelo's employer, the Auburn Police Department. Hayes asks, "How can his employer not be held responsible for him, for what he did to me and what he did to all these people? He's a public servant. I'm paying for it." The reporter says Hayes's own research led him to DeAngelo's handwritten police reports, which in the reporter's words show he was on duty "the same day" he attacked Hayes and his girlfriend. Afterward Hayes says there are "as many questions or more questions now," because with the conviction the district attorney's office "doesn't have to talk about it."

What Makes the Recording Significant

Hayes, a male survivor of an East Area Rapist attack, speaks in his own name. His statement raises in open court the question of the responsibility of the police department that employed DeAngelo.

Important Caveats

DeAngelo is not heard. That DeAngelo was on duty as an Auburn officer when he attacked Hayes is Hayes's contention, not an established finding; the report says only that records show him on duty "the same day." Hayes's girlfriend, also a survivor, is not named and must not be named on the page. The reporter is not identified; Hayes calls him "Steve."

Victor Hayes: This is going to be different, because this case is different than the other cases.

Cbs13 Reporter: Victor Hayes put his passion and frustration on full display inside this Sacramento County courtroom.

Victor Hayes: It's despicable. It's immature. It's disgusting.

Cbs13 Reporter: Hayes didn't only call out DeAngelo. He took this opportunity in open court to call out DeAngelo's employer, the Auburn Police Department.

Victor Hayes: How can his employer not be held responsible for him, for what he did to me and what he did to all these people? He's a public servant. I'm paying for it. [unclear: "I be in the public"]

Cbs13 Reporter: Hayes's own detective work has led him to locate DeAngelo's handwritten police reports showing he was on duty the same day he attacked Hayes and his girlfriend in 1977. Now, even with the conviction and sentencing days away, Hayes says he is still searching for justice and answers in this East Area Rapist case.

Victor Hayes: There are as many questions or more questions now, and that's the problem, Steve, with this conviction, because the district attorney's office doesn't have to talk about it. It's over with now. ---