Reno family seeks justice for 1990 rape of disabled woman as suspect eludes prosecution

RENO, Nev. (News 4 & Fox 11) — A Reno family is pleading for justice after a woman with special needs was raped more than three decades ago. The family tracked down the suspect behind the rape, but authorities say they can't prosecute him.

Sheri Hebensperger is severely disabled and was a ward of the state in California in the 1980s. She was living at Hylond care facility in Garden Grove in southern California when she was raped and nine months later gave birth to a baby boy named Travis in August 1990. The facility has since closed.

Sheri was only 19 years old and her family said she had the mental capacity of a three-year-old at the time.

"It was horrific. From, you know. Sheri, who was so physically disabled and then to find out that, you know, she's pregnant from this," said Trina Tribby, Sheri's sister.

Sheri knows Travis is her son and has overwhelming joy when she sees him.

"She always loved me. She was always so excited to see us. Can't shut up about me when I leave. She knows who I am and she knows how she feels about her son," Travis Tribby said.

Travis was raised by his grandmother, who he called mom. He's now living in northern Nevada. So is his aunt, Trina.

"Travis, when he came, he was just so accepted. He's so loved. We absolutely love him. I'm so glad he's part of the family," Tribby said.

Garden Grove Police investigated at the time. But nobody was arrested or charged for Sheri's rape.

The family believes an outside worker, visiting the facility raped Sheri.

"I've always had plenty of feelings about him and living my life with that as an enigma. Has. I don't know. Your imagination runs wild," said Travis Tribby.

In 2011, retired Garden Grove Police Officer Robert Romaine gave the cold case another look and in a report said there were "additional assaults of other residents at the Hylond Home."

Romaine, now 90 years old, worked with the Orange County District Attorney's Office to take a second look at Sheri's case, even without a suspect.

"I asked the DA's office locally here and they said no, we shut that thing down, we don't have anything to do with it," Romaine said by telephone.

Then 30 years later, the family sent Travis' DNA to Ancestry.com and there was a hit on the suspect's relative.

"One of the genealogists, she was able to find out who this guy was, and she said It's come down to one person and one person only, and it's it's incredible," Trina Tribby said. " We've always wanted to find out this guy because he, I mean, he's not a good guy and my sister cannot be the only one that he's done this to. I want this man to be held accountable. "

The family hired a private investigator who tracked down the suspect. They have a name and know where he lives. News 4/Fox 11 is not releasing that name since he has not been named by police.

Travis' grandmother was one of the family members who pushed for the renewed justice but passed away before the family got the name of the suspect.

But there would be no justice for Sheri who is now 53 years old.

Garden Grove Police and the Orange County DA's Office told Sheri's family and News 4-Fox 11 the statute of limitations has run out.

"Due to the case, it happened in 1990, there were statute of limitations on a lot of cases and because the case was a 1990 case, the statute of limitations has passed," said Officer Nick Jensen, a spokesman for the Garden Grove Police Department.

Police said the laws in 1990 had to be prosecuted within a decade. Today, there are no statute of limitations on cases like this.

Even though this specific DNA didn't exist back then, the DA's office said the law prevents them from taking the case.

"My heart goes out to the family. This is an unfortunate case, and and there's nothing more that we would want to do than to to solve these crimes and put people in jail where they belong. We have tried everything. Our detectives have gone over and over, back and forth with the district attorney's office," Jensen said.

The only recourse the family now has is to sue the suspect civilly since the criminal case is closed.

"I mean, I just absolutely atrocious what this man had done. And he, I feel like he saw an opportunity and just took it and didn't care the consequences of anything," Trina Tribby said.

The family is now looking at filing a civil case against the suspect.