D.A. Accuses Man of 2 Rapes After Forgoing Earlier Charge

Prosecutors, who said last week that they had insufficient evidence to charge a Canoga Park man with rape, charged him Tuesday with two rapes--the initial crime and another committed after he was set free in the first case.

James Mack, 31, previously identified as Stephen Arnold, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Van Nuys Municipal Court to 10 felonies stemming from the two alleged assaults.

Following his arraignment, Mack was returned to custody in lieu of $130,000 bail.

On July 9, the district attorney’s office declined to file charges against Mack in the first incident, saying the female victim had a lengthy prostitution record and her story could not be corroborated.

Mack, who told police the woman had consented to sex, was released from jail.

Police say that three days after his release, Mack went to a home in the 7000 block of Jordan Avenue, in the same neighborhood where the first woman said she was raped.

He forced his way into the home of another woman and pointed what the 20-year-old woman and her two male roommates thought was a shotgun at them, but which turned out to be a pellet gun, police said. Deputy Dist. Atty. Teri M. Hutchison said Mack then raped the woman in front of her two roommates and demanded money from all three.

Police, alerted by neighbors who heard the woman’s screams, banged on the door, then captured Mack as he tried to flee out a bedroom window, Hutchison said.

Hutchison said that after reviewing evidence from the second incident, prosecutors “now feel more confident we can convict him in the earlier incident.”

In the July 12 incident, Mack is charged with rape, forcible oral copulation, unlawful sex by fear, burglary and three counts of attempted robbery. In the July 9 incident, he is charged with rape, assault with intent to commit rape and assault with intent to commit a felony. A preliminary hearing is scheduled July 25.