VISTA — A Solana Beach dog groomer was sentenced to five years in state prison last week after pleading guilty to the attempted sexual assault of a 75-year-old woman.
Tony Choi, 52, was sentenced by Judge Robert J. Kearney on April 7 in Vista Superior Court after pleading guilty to one count of residential burglary and one count of attempted sexual penetration of an incompetent person with a foreign object in February.
In October 2024, Choi showed up at the Carmel Valley home of the septuagenarian and asked if her dogs needed to be washed. After the woman invited Choi into her home, he tried to sexually assault her.
The woman’s caretaker was home and disrupted the incident, at which point Choi fled the scene in his car. That evening, he was driving the same vehicle when he returned to his Manzanillo Court home and found deputies waiting to take him into custody.
Choi was originally charged with felony assault, first-degree burglary, attempted rape of an incompetent person, and elder abuse.
