Man held in rape of Corona girl

Authorities have arrested a 39-year-old man on suspicion of raping a 16-year-old deaf Corona girl who had hitched a ride with him to San Diego.

Marcos Esteban Ortega of Lake Elsinore allegedly picked up the victim at a gas station in Corona April 12 after he offered to drive her to see her friends in San Diego, said Riverside County sheriff’s Investigator Jerry Franchville.

Instead, Franchville said Ortega drove to a business center parking lot near Interstate 15 and Baxter Road in Wildomar and sexually assaulted the girl in his car.

Ortega told the teenager that his name was Marcos and that he was a mechanic in the area, Franchville said. The girl, who can read lips and uses a hearing aid, was dropped off in San Diego after the attack. She did not report the incident until she returned home, Franchville said.

Ortega was arrested without incident Friday at 4:40 p.m. at a park at Florence Place and Emil Avenue in Bell Gardens. He is being held on $50,000 bail, Franchville said.

David.pierson@latimes.com