A Chula Vista man who pleaded guilty to sexual battery and robbery of three transgendered persons was sentenced Jan. 22 to 12 years in state prison and ordered to repay $990 to them.

One of the victims knelt down in court to illustrate how Edward Terry Wallace, 25, ordered her to the floor in her home and put a stun gun to her head before robbing her. “He was there to rape me, and rob me.

He took $730 from me,” she told San Diego Superior Court Judge Michael Smyth.

The victims described themselves as transgendered and submitted a personal ad on Craigslist in April, 2008. The victims’ names are not disclosed because they are victims of sexual assault. They said Wallace came to their homes with robbery and sexual assault on his mind, something disputed by Wallace’s attorney, Paul Rodriguez.

Wallace pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary, robbery, attempted robbery, and sexual battery to two victims, and charges of forcible sodomy were dismissed on July 28, 2008. Rodriguez said his client strongly denied raping the victims, but admitted to robbing them.

Deputy District Attorney Patrick Espinoza told the judge Wallace chose the victims because “of who they were.” Espinoza added that Wallace later said he thought transgendered people were “immoral” and “he had less guilt in stealing from transsexuals.”

A second victim described herself to the judge by saying “I am a transsexual lady.” She said Wallace complimented her initially, saying “You are very pretty. You are a model.” But his mood changed quickly, she said.

“He grabbed me, placed an electric gun to my neck. I begged, I cried, I kneeled. He took me to the closet with that electric gun,” the woman said.

The second victim said she gave Wallace $260, and he responded, “Is this all you have?”

“He threw me to the bed. He tried to have sex with me,” she recounted. “Do not move. If you move, I’ll kill you,” she quoted him as saying.

“I am here frightened. This person is a mean person. I feel sorry because of his family, but maybe they don’t know what he is doing,” the victim said.

Wallace recently married his girlfriend with whom he shares a 1-year-old child, said his attorney. His wife described him as “a loving father, a good person” whom she described as spiritual. “Please have mercy on his life,” she asked the judge.

Cheryl Wallace, the defendant’s mother, said he helped raise his siblings because he was the oldest after his father was killed during a violent carjacking 15 years ago. “It’s out of his character. I don’t know what happened,” she said about the crimes.

Rodriguez said his client had no prior record other than traffic tickets and should get credit for “resolving this case early.” The victims did not have to testify in a preliminary hearing because he pleaded guilty beforehand.

“I am truly sorry for the pain I caused. I ask for mercy, please,” said Wallace to the judge.

Smyth asked one victim if she was shot with the stun gun and she said yes. He denied probation, and turned down the probation department’s recommendation of 18 years in prison. Espinoza asked for a 13-year sentence.

“It’s clear to me you planned these crimes – picking vulnerable victims...to rob people in their homes,” said Smyth to Wallace. “It went well beyond robbing people.”

“The acts did seem to be particularly cruel and callous, was all of those things – cruel, vicious, and callous...uncaring, eager to get money from people,” said Smyth.

Espinoza said the crime was solved after a witness wrote down the car license plate number after the third incident.

Wallace was fined $10,000, and ordered to register as a sex offender with law enforcement in whatever community he lives after he is paroled. He received credit for spending 328 days in jail since his arrest.