San Diego Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

In the Rancho Penasquitos sexual assault of two teenage girls, the two young men arrested and charged for the rapes have pleaded not guilty.

The two 16 year-old boys, Leonel Contreras and William Rodriguez are being tried as adaults. The two boys held two teenage girls at knifepoint in a Rancho Penasquitos park and allegedly raped them over Labor Day weekend. On Monday the two accused teens plead not guilty to 16 felony charges which includes forcible rape, sodomy by force and kidnapping. Bail was set for $5 million each. 13 of the 16 charges have a potential sentence of 25 years to life in prison which if convicted can be up to a total 325 years to life in prison, according to Deputy District Attorney Wendy Partick.

The prosecutor told reporters “The nature of the crimes, the duration of the crimes, the number…the brutality of the crimes, the callousness..the stranger-rape nature of this offense justified charging them as adaults.” Contreras’s older brother Ivan disagreed with the severity of the charges saying “the charges they’re giving are obviously too much. How are you going to get him as an adult?”

The San Diego Crime occurred on September 3 when two girls, age 15 and 16, were attending a family party and walked to a nearby park. According to the prosecutor, the defendants were wearing jackets with hoods when they came up behind the girls and ordered forced them into a secluded area across the street. The two boys held the girls at knifepoint then sexually assaulted the two girls for about 30 to 40 minutes until a family member of one of the girls was heared calling their names. Patrick told the judge “this included every kind of rape you could imagine.” The defendants then left on a bicycle.

2 Teens Plead Not Guilty In Rancho Penasquitos Rape Case, 10news.com, September 12, 2011

2 teens plead not guilty to raping girls in park, fox5sandiego.com, September 12, 2011