‘Messenger of the Lord’ Suspect Pleads Not Guilty
A man accused of being the “Messenger of the Lord” rapist pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that he sexually assaulted six women.
Joseph B. Socha, 28, a graduate business student at Cal State Dominguez Hills, is charged with 28 counts of robbery, kidnaping and sexual assault. He denied all of the charges at an arraignment Wednesday in Long Beach.
Superior Court Judge Arthur Jean ordered Socha to remain in custody without bail and scheduled a Jan. 2 trial.
At Socha’s preliminary hearing last month, four women identified him as the man who sexually assaulted them in August and September in Long Beach and San Pedro. The district attorney’s office later filed additional charges against Socha stemming from sexual assaults on two more women. Those assaults occurred in August in Long Beach and Inglewood, prosecutors said.
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