San Diego

A paroled rapist pleaded innocent Tuesday to sexually assaulting two women in their 60s shortly after being released from state prison.

Emmanuel Lucious, 29, is also charged with 11 other felonies, including robbery, burglary, assault with a deadly weapon and being a habitual offender.

Lucious was convicted of raping an elementary school teacher and trying to rape another teacher in a highly publicized case in 1981. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, which was later reduced to 14 years.

Lucious was released on parole last summer. Six weeks later, a 65-year-old woman was raped and another woman in her 60s was the victim of an attempted rape. Charges against Lucious were filed last month in connection with those attacks. Lucious has been held in County Jail since September.

Bail was set at $500,000 by Municipal Judge William Woodward at the request of Deputy Dist. Atty. Bob Phillips, who described Lucious as “a danger to the community.” A preliminary hearing was set for March 19.

If Lucious is convicted of violating the habitual-offender statute alone, he could face a prison term of 20 years to life.