Parents Plead On Knees Before Judge As Son Sentenced For Stalking Ex-Girlfriend

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - It was an elaborate stalking scheme that lasted for months. The man responsible found out he'll serve nearly 20 years in prison for his crimes.

Jose Moreno spent four months terrifying his ex-girlfriend. He broke into her home, videotaped her, even installed spyware on her computer.

"I don't think life will ever be the same, but the healing process starts now," the woman said.

The victim of a determined and depraved stalker says she finally has some piece of mind. Moreno was sentenced to 19 years and four months behind bars.

"The victim will never have any, I have no doubt of this, a sense of security. I don't know how you could after what she went through," Judge Ernest Sawtelle said.

Following their breakup in 2010, Moreno broke into his ex-girlfriend's home nearly a dozen times, installing surveillance cameras in her bedroom, and even stealing used condoms and wax strips from her trash can.

"He would not and could not accept that he wasn't going to be in her life, so he inserted himself into her life whether she liked it or not," Deputy District Attorney Michelle Restrepo said during the sentencing.

The victim read a statement in a courtroom filled with Moreno's family members asking for a sentence of 25 years.

"I won't feel as though I have to look over my shoulder every few minutes, or scan the area around me to see if Jose is around," she said.

Family members of Moreno pleaded for mercy. His parents even dropped to their knees and begged. Moreno too asked the judge for leniency.

"Please believe in me, and offer me an opportunity to do the best I possibly can with a second chance," Moreno said.

In the end, the judge said the terror the victim endured at the hands of Moreno was worthy of a significant punishment.

"I couldn't be more thankful to the attorney, to the detectives, to everyone who was on this case who got him the number of years the judge gave him," the victim said.

Moreno was a Berkley graduate, and went to Colombia grad school. The prosecutor says his intelligence helped him devise this elaborate stalking scheme.