'We Will No Longer Hide': Victims Speak Out After Facing Joseph DeAngelo In Court

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — In a makeshift courtroom Monday, victims of the Golden State Killer heard graphic — sometimes gruesome — details of murder and rape, including their own attacks.

"It really kind of changed my whole world that day," said Kris Pedretti from Elk Grove.

At just 15 years old, she became one of Joseph DeAngelo's youngest rape victims.

"The first thing I would tell 15-year-old Kris is that, 'you are loved,'" she said.

On Monday, she heard graphic details of her own assault, while looking straight at her attacker.

"He's having to live with the fact with what he did to us and is owning it," she said.

Pedretti stood when her case was read, as DeAngelo entered a guilty plea. She says every story matters.

READ: 'I Did All That': Inner Person Drove The Golden State Killer, Prosecutor Says

"We don't own that shame and we are not taking it anymore," she said.

She is now inspiring other victims, including Meredith Wardlow, to stand and own their story.

"Besides the fact that I was a victim, the entire city of Sacramento was a victim," said Wardlow.

She was raped at 13 years old. Wardlow had read everything on the Golden State Killer, also known as the East Area Rapist, terrorizing her town. She knew exactly who had come into her home that night. And then she became the headline.

She said, "I remember thinking what's making this guy tick? Why is he doing this? What's making this guy attack these women like this?"

Now both women say decades later there is no place for DeAngelo to hide.

"I think it's an act, I don't think he's as frail as he makes himself to be," said Pedretti.

"I don't for one minute think that he's weak, he's faking it," said Wardlow.

Both women are a part of a support group that Pedretti created that encourages victims to share their stories. You can access that group here.