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Gay Rape Serial Killer Gets Life
4:21pm UK, Wednesday September 24, 2008

A man who raped and murdered eight young men over a 10-year period has been sentenced to eight consecutive life sentences in the US.

Dominique pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty

Police said Ronald Dominique lured his victims with the promise of sex in exchange for money, or by showing them a picture of a good-looking woman, supposedly his wife, and saying he wanted them to have sex with her.

Once he got them to his house, he would ask to tie them up.

If they refused, he allowed them to leave. If they agreed, he raped and then strangled or suffocated them.

Many of his victims' bodies were found dumped in sugar cane fields, often without shoes, a connection that helped police tie the cases together.

Dominique - from Bayou Blue, a small Cajun settlement about 60 miles south-west of New Orleans - was arrested in December 2006 after the ten-year killing spree.

At the time, authorities said he confessed to raping and murdering about two dozen young men in four Louisiana parishes.

He pleaded guilty to eight murders in a deal that saw him avoid the death penalty and was sentenced to eight consecutive life terms in prison.

Homo serial killer Ronald Dominique

Guilty: Ronald Dominique

"The lives of eight young men were taken from these families by the actions of the defendant," Assistant District Attorney Mark Rhodes said before sentencing.

"He knew nothing about them or their families and he callously killed the victims and left a lifetime of pain as their legacy."

Chris Cunningham, the brother of Kurt Cunningham, one of Dominique's victims, said in court: "I'll miss him to the day I die. I hope hell finds you fast."

Mr Rhodes said: "I told the families of the victims I was confident we could get a guilty verdict on all eight counts (of murder).

"I was confident we could get the death penalty on all eight counts.

"I was also confident it would be tied up in appeals for 12 to 15 years or more."

source: Sky.com