Serial rapist pleads guilty to '04, '05 cases
By April Bethea
abethea@ charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008

An illegal immigrant charged with raping three women, including a jogger in Dilworth in 2005, will spend at least 45 years in prison.

Jose Rivera-Mejia, 27, pleaded guilty in Mecklenburg Superior Court on Friday to 10 charges, including three counts of first-degree rape and two counts of first-degree sex offense. He'll face 45 years to 55 1/2 years in prison, and then would face deportation after he served his time.

Rivera-Mejia was charged last year for attacks on three women in different parts of Charlotte between April 2004 and September 2005. In October 2005, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said they had linked the crimes using DNA.

Rivera-Mejia was tied to the cases after he was convicted of a felony property crime and had to submit his DNA, said Mecklenburg Assistant District Attorney Samantha Pendergrass.

District Attorney Peter Gilchrist said today the plea can bring closure to Rivera-Mejia's victims.

“He's now been convicted and is going to serve an extremely long sentence so I think he's out of the picture, I would assume, for the rest of his life,â€