On February 2, 2026, Saeid Boustanabadi Maralan, a 67-year-old former rug merchant from Laguna Beach, was sentenced to 34 years to life in prison for s*xually assaulting women in his store.
Maralan was found guilty of two counts of s*xual penetration by a foreign object, one count of r*pe, and one count of attempted oral c*pulation.
The charges originated from incidents in 2010 at the Sirous & Sons Rug Gallery in Laguna Beach. While more than 10 women initially came forward, the final case focused on assaults against two victims, with two others providing evidence of a pattern.
Maralan was first charged by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office back in 2011. His sentencing was delayed for years due to various factors, including a period of home confinement and the trial concluding in late 2023.
During the hearing, Maralan reportedly sparred with the judge while attempting to argue for more custody credit for his years spent in home confinement.
The lead prosecutor for the trial and sentencing of Saeid Maralan was Deputy District Attorney Tara Meath from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Why did he do it?
While only Maralan himself knows his exact reasoning, evidence presented during his trial by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office suggests several factors that likely contributed to his sense of impunity:
- Financial Leverage over Victims: Many of the women Maralan targeted were at his store specifically for business. One victim was trying to sell rugs to pay for her mother’s health issues, and another was attempting to display her Persian bags for sale. This power dynamic, where victims relied on him for financial transactions, may have made him believe they would be too afraid or “desperate for money” to report him.
- A “Business as Usual” Strategy: Maralan frequently returned to business immediately after the assaults. In one instance, after assaulting a woman in a back room, he walked back out to her mother and finalized their rug deal. This cold compartmentalization might have been intended to normalize the situation and confuse the victim.
- Victim Embarrassment and Silence: Prosecutors noted that one victim did not report the incident immediately because she was “embarrassed and shocked”. Another victim even continued to do business with him, mistakenly believing the assault was an “isolated incident” she could control in the future. Maralan may have banked on this common reaction of shame and silence.
- Public Defiance and Denials: Even after multiple women came forward, Maralan remained publicly defiant. In court, his defense attorney argued the assaults “could not happen” because they allegedly occurred in a busy store with employees and customers nearby. During his sentencing on February 2, 2026, Maralan even directly sparred with the judge, telling her she was “not fit to be sentencing judge”.
- History of Evading Severe Consequences: Maralan was a registered s*x offender following a conviction for s*xual battery in 2002. Having navigated the legal system before without receiving a life sentence, he may have developed a false sense of security about his ability to manage future accusations.