OXNARD : Man Gets 6 Years in Assault Case

An Oxnard man was sentenced to six years in prison Friday for false imprisonment and assault with intent to rape a 15-year-old girl last December.

But before he serves that sentence, Jermaine E. Casey must stand trial for a rape allegedly committed in April, while he was on bail for the earlier offense.

Casey, 20, was convicted May 16 in the first case. The victim told a Ventura County Superior Court jury that she and a 13-year-old girlfriend had agreed to meet Casey and another man at a Ventura bowling alley on Dec. 21. They accompanied the men to a motel suite.

Eventually, only Casey and the two girls remained in the motel room, and the 13-year-old fell asleep, according to trial testimony. The 15-year-old testified that Casey held her captive for four hours, roughed her up and threatened to kill her if she did not let him have sex with her.

Casey left when the younger girl awoke about 5 a.m., investigators said. The girl reported the incident and Casey was arrested about two weeks later.

In sentencing Casey to the maximum term, Judge James M. McNally said he was ignoring the fact that the defendant has been accused of another assault while on bail. In that case, Casey allegedly dragged a 13-year-old girl into a restroom in Oxnard and raped her April 22.

McNally will preside at the trial in that case, scheduled to begin July 29.