OXNARD : 3 Plead Not Guilty in Alleged Rape
Three Oxnard men pleaded not guilty to sexual assault charges Monday in Ventura County Superior Court in connection with the alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl on Oct. 4.
Oscar Ponce, 29, Oscar Rivera, 23, and Carlos Tamayo, 18, denied two counts each of rape by force or fear and one count each of kidnaping, rape in concert with force or violence, sodomy, oral copulation with a person under age 16, oral copulation in concert with force and a special allegation of kidnaping for sex.
Rivera, who allegedly had 1 1/2 grams of cocaine when he was arrested, pleaded not guilty to possession of cocaine and being under the influence of drugs.
The girl testified during a preliminary hearing in Municipal Court on Oct. 22 that the three picked her up in a car and drove her to a field near Gonzales Road west of Victoria Avenue. There, they each raped her twice before leaving her and warning her not to tell anyone of the crime, the girl testified.
After the men left, the girl flagged down a passing motorist who drove her to the Oxnard Police Department, she testified.
If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of 88 years in prison, Deputy Dist. Atty. Patrice Koenig said. The three were ordered held in lieu of $100,000 bail each until their trial, scheduled for Dec. 17 in Superior Court.
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