Serial rapist gets life in prison

Brian Ziegler is every woman's worst nightmare.

Last year, Ziegler kidnapped and sexually assaulted at least three people, including a 15-year-old girl, in Las Vegas, authorities said. He targeted mostly young women and girls walking alone on streets.

His method was simple: He drove through neighborhoods in his truck and ordered women, at gunpoint, to get into his vehicle, prosecutors said. Then he took the victims to a secluded area or hotel and sexually assaulted them, prosecutors said.

Among his crimes: He kidnapped a woman waiting at a bus stop; he tried to take a woman who was jogging in Summerlin; and he took a 15-year-old girl who was on her way to school, authorities said.

On Wednesday, Ziegler, 36, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 50 years.

Moments before District Judge David Barker sentenced him, Ziegler said he had gone through a bitter divorce before the assaults and was "acting out."

"I believe I deserve to be punished," Ziegler said. "The person who committed these horrible crimes is not the man I've tried to be."

Ziegler worked at a warehouse in Las Vegas loading trucks. He moved to town from the Midwest about five years ago and once attended Kent State University in Ohio. He has no prior criminal record, authorities said.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Thomas Moreo said Ziegler's victims were too traumatized to testify against him.

Three have left Nevada since the attacks. "Each one of these victims was given a life sentence," he said.

Ziegler was facing more than 20 counts of kidnapping, sexual assault, battery and other crimes. He pleaded guilty in September to two counts of sexual assault, one count of sexual assault of a minor and one count of attempted first-degree kidnapping. In exchange, authorities agreed to drop multiple charges.

Moreo said the victims wanted the case resolved.

"They were the ones who were eager to get this case moved along and allowed us to plead him guilty," he said. "Every one of them had nightmares. Every one of them talked about not wanting to face him."

Authorities said Ziegler committed the assaults and attempted kidnappings in March and April 2007. He kidnapped his first victim, a 15-year-old student at Garside Middle School, while she was walking to school near Alta and Torrey Pines drives on March 8, according to court documents.

The victim told the grand jury that Ziegler handcuffed her and took her to a Budget Suites hotel near Texas Station, where he assaulted her for five hours. She said he told her that his wife and daughter had left him and moved to Ireland. After the attack, he dropped her off near the school, she said.

Authorities said Ziegler kidnapped a woman walking near Washington Avenue and Torrey Pines Drive at the end of March. He drove her to Calico Basin Road near Red Rock, forced her to partially strip and sexually assaulted her at gunpoint, the victim told the grand jury. He threatened to kill her if she told anyone, she said.

Another victim told the grand jury that she was waiting at a bus stop at Rainbow and Charleston boulevards on her way to the gym April 8, 2007. She said Ziegler pulled out a gun, forced her into his vehicle and drove her to an area in the northeast. During the drive, she asked him if she knew him or if she had upset him in some way. She also asked if he was going to kill her.

"He kind of just snickered," she told the grand jury.

Once they reached a secluded area, he assaulted her, according to court records.

The Summerlin woman Ziegler tried to snatch near Hillpointe Road and Hills Center Drive ran away and reported the incident to police. A 17-year-old on her way to school near Flamingo Road and Torrey Pines Drive also escaped by running away.

Moreo said Ziegler will be in prison for years but the victims will be living with the experience forever.

"Every one of them will have a lifetime memory of what he caused upon them," Moreo said. "There isn't any way that's going away simply because he pled guilty."

Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.