15 Counts Filed, Others Possible : Fountain Valley Man Faces Rape Charges

A Fountain Valley man arrested as a suspect in a series of sexual attacks was charged Friday with raping four women and attempting to rape three others, authorities said.

Robin Scott Dasenbrock, 22, is charged with a total of 15 counts, including attempted burglary, in what Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Koski described as “the most onerous rape case” in Orange County.

Koski said he hopes to be able to file additional charges involving other rape victims.

“This could be the tip of the iceberg,” he said.

The seven rape victims involved in the charges filed Friday lived in Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley, Koski said.

Unsolved Cases Studied

The maximum sentence Dasenbrock could serve should he be convicted on the charges filed now would be 64 years in state prison, he said. “I would say this is an extremely solid case,” Koski said. “We have his fingerprints.”

Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley investigators are reviewing unsolved rape cases to determine whether Dasenbrock could be a suspect, Koski said.

A police dog on patrol with a Fountain Valley officer spotted Dasenbrock hiding in the bushes early Wednesday about 500 yards from the place where a 21-year-old woman reported that a man had tried to rape her Monday night. Dasenbrock was arrested there, across the street from the apartment complex where he lives.

Dasenbrock, who is being held in Huntington Beach jail, appeared briefly in West Orange County Municipal Court in Westminster before Judge Michael Beecher for arraignment Friday. The arraignment was postponed until May 15. Wearing a blousy white shirt and jeans, the tanned, youthful man appeared calm as he listened to a reading of the charges against him.

Bail Doubled

At the prosecutor’s request, the judge doubled Dasenbrock’s bail to $500,000.

Koski said he requested the higher bail because the rapist sometimes used a knife. Koski declined to elaborate on the details.

Deputy Public Defender Alan Crivaro said he was appointed to defend Dasenbrock minutes before meeting his client. “At this point I do not know anything about the case except for the charges, and I probably won’t be the lawyer throughout.”

At the request of Koski and Crivaro, the judge prohibited news photographs of the suspect in court, although one picture had already appeared in a newspaper.

“We anticipate having a lineup on Tuesday night,” Koski said. “The fewer times his picture gets published, the better.”