Bay Area man convicted of imprisoning woman in hotel gets 394 year prison sentence
A man who was convicted of holding an elderly woman captive inside a San Francisco Bay Area hotel for more than two years has been sentenced to nearly 400 years in prison, prosecutors said.
According to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe's office, a judge on Monday sentenced 58-year-old Ian Edard Kroe of Oakland to 394 years to life in state prison. Kroe was convicted in February on 33 felony counts, including multiple counts of rape, torture, elder abuse and false imprisonment.
Prosecutors said Kroe held the woman, who is now 74-years-old, as a virtual prisoner at the Belmont Hyatt Hotel from Aug. 2020 through Aug. 2022. The victim was a friend of Kroe's mother.
After Kroe's mother died in 2016, prosecutors said he "struck up a friendship" with the victim and convinced her to travel with him, eventually ending up in the hotel.
Prosecutors said Kroe eventually took over the victim's finances and drained her accounts. She repeatedly said she wanted to return to her home in New Mexico but he would not allow it.
In the hotel, prosecutors said the victim was not allowed to leave the room for eight months and was threatened she would be killed if she left. Kroe also sexually assaulted the victim multiple times.
The victim had also broke her ankle in 2021 and she was not allowed to receive medical care despite intense pain, according to the DA's office.
After secretly contacting a friend in New Mexico, police found the victim in the hotel room, naked, bruised and unable to move on her own.
During Monday's hearing, the DA's office said Kroe "conducted himself at sentencing with the usual antics" which included faking chest pains, making a series of bizarre motions and an effort to put off sentencing, which the court denied.
The victim, who attended the hearing over Zoom, .
In addition to the prison term, Kroe was ordered to register as a sex offender and was ordered not to contact the victim for 10 years.
Kroe remains in custody without bail. A restitution hearing in the case has been scheduled for Oct. 29.
