The Fresno City Council wants the Tower Rapist to stay in prison.

Rudolph Martin Acosta has been in prison since 1992, serving 78 years after admitting to raping at least eight women in the Tower District. He is at Avenal State Prison.

His next parole hearing is June 6 at the prison, and the council opposed his release on a 6-0 vote.

“We are here to speak on behalf of those who were silenced, who still carry the weight of unspeakable trauma, and who continue to fight each day for the justice that we were promised,” Councilmember Annalisa Perea said.

Perea called Acosta’s crimes “deliberate, ruthless, and horrifyingly repetitive.” She said there are 22 known victims.

‘I Will Not Allow Him to Be Released as Long as I Breathe’

One victim, Mirna Navarro Garcia, spoke publicly to the council.

“I can’t stand by and not do something about it. I can’t take the liberty of laying in my bed and pretending this never happened,” Navarro Garcia said.

Navarro Garcia said two victims committed suicide, and others suffer from addiction problems.

“I will not allow him to be released as long as I breathe, because one person is one too many,” Navarro Garcia said.

The parole board denied Acosta in 2019, after he voluntarily waived his right to appear. The council also publicly opposed his release then.

In a statement Acosta read to the media after the 2019 hearing, he said “I’m well aware of the devastating affect [sic] my crimes had on others. Had I foreseen the destructive path that would land me in prison for 28 years, I would have instead chosen a moral and decent life. I am very, very sorry.”

Acosta also voluntarily waived his right to parole hearings in 2022, 2023 and 2024, online prison records show. He is eligible for parole as a “youth offender” because he committed his offense when he was 26 or younger.

Councilmember Nick Richardson was absent for the vote, explaining that he left for Marine Corps reserve duty. He expects to be back from Africa “in a few weeks.”

Public Works Money Transferred to Arias

The council approved transferring $195,000 from the city’s public works department into councilmember Miguel Arias’ operating budget.

The 5-2 vote took place during the consent calendar, meaning there was no discussion on the matter. The transfer needed a minimum of five votes. Mike Karbassi and Richardson voted no; Arias, Perea, Tyler Maxwell, Brandon Vang and Nelson Esparza voted yes.

Arias declined Politics 101’s questions about the transaction.

Mayor Jerry Dyer does have veto power, according to the agenda.

Politicker …

Councilmember Annalisa Perea said she will appeal a planning commission decision denying a convenience store in her district a permit to sell beer and wine. The April 2 decision denied A’s Family Market a conditional use permit. Only a councilmember or the mayor can appeal to the full city council, within a 15-day time period.

Perea, during the meeting, also revealed that she and her partner are pregnant. It is her partner that is carrying.

Mayor Jerry Dyer honored new city Poet Laureate Aideed Medina with a proclamation. Medina got to work immediately, reading a poem about Fresno.

The council awarded a $12.9 million contract to Soltek Pacific Construction to build a new 9-1-1 emergency call center. The vote was 7-0. Construction will start this summer, with an anticipated finish in fall 2026. The center will be located at the Fresno Municipal Services Center, at G and El Dorado streets.

Several longtime behind-the-scenes political vets have changed scenes. Larry Salinas — who has lent his expertise to Fresno State, former Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, and several others — returns to advising a congressmember.

Salinas is now district deputy chief of staff for Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno. Costa’s former district rep, Kathy Mahan, is now the central California regional director for new U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff.

At City Hall, See Xiong is the interim chief of staff for new councilmember Brandon Vang. She helped work on his campaign.

Isaac Gudino, formerly with state Sen. Anna Caballero, is now working for councilmember Nelson Esparza.