Former UCSB Student Sentenced for Brutal Rape Attack

(Daniel J. Chen mugshot / UCPD)

A former UC Santa Barbara student will be sentenced to 36 years in prison for the brutal gang rape and attack of another student in February 2014.

Daniel Jiang Chen, 22, accepted a plea bargain on Wednesday for two felony counts of rape and one felony count of robbery. 

On February 23, 2014, the female victim was physically and sexually assaulted on UC Santa Barbara’s campus by Chen and presumably others in what was described by police as a gang rape. The victim was also robbed of her cell phone after the attack. 

Authorities received a 911 call near 4:00 a.m. and discovered the victim sustained severe injuries including a broken nose, eye trauma, and a ruptured eardrum. DNA and evidence was collected and entered into a database, however, the suspects remained unidentified for two years. In February 2016, Chen was arrested on a felony marijuana charge where his then submitted DNA sample matched the DNA from the crime scene. 

The official sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 20.