Convicted Murderer Found Guilty of Abducting and Raping 3 Women

A Van Nuys man was found guilty Friday of kidnaping three Sepulveda women and raping them in a remote area of the Antelope Valley two years ago. An accomplice was convicted in 1983.

Inocencio Jesus Solares, 25, who is already serving 27 years to life for a murder he committed two months after the rapes, could receive a maximum of 200 years in state prison when he is sentenced on May 10, Deputy Dist. Atty. Susan Speer said.

A jury in San Fernando Superior Court deliberated for 12 hours before convicting Solares of nine counts of rape, three counts of kidnaping, five counts of sodomy, six counts of oral copulation and three counts of robbery for the Feb. 12, 1983, attack on the three women.

Juror Saw No Doubt

“There was no doubt in our minds what the turnout would be,” said one juror. “It was just a matter of going through and confirming evidence as to each of the 26 counts.”

According to testimony during the three-week trial, Solares, a native of Guatemala, kidnaped the victims from a bus stop in Sepulveda. The women, who had been invited to a party that night by another man, Victor Reyes, got in Solares’ car because Reyes told them Solares was a friend and would give them a ride to the festivities.

Instead, Solares and Reyes drove the women to a remote area in the Antelope Valley, where they raped and tortured them for several hours. Prosecutors never found the exact location of the attack, Speer said.

Reyes is serving a 14-year state prison term for three of the rapes and for aiding Solares.

Testimony About Shots

One of the victims testified that Solares fired several shots from a pistol into the ground next to her head as he held her down. Solares repeatedly threatened to kill all three of them, she testified, and told her that he had murdered several people.

Defense attorney Dennis E. Mulcahy attempted to prove that the victims’ identification of Solares was “tainted, unreasonable and unreliable” because of the way investigators questioned the women and presented them with photographs of suspects.

He also called Solares’ former girlfriend to the stand to testify that the defendant was with her all night.

But Speer said the evidence was overwhelming against Solares--including minute details of his car provided by one of the victims immediately after the attack. “This was a very, very strong case,” she said.