Trial Begins for Westlake Man Accused of 17 Rapes

The trial of a Westlake man who authorities say was among the most active rapists in Los Angeles history began Monday with the prosecution and defense attorney arguing whether a single suspect was responsible for the 17 sexual assaults in question.

In a brief opening statement, Deputy Public Defender Steven Schoenfield, who is representing Jose Romeo Fuentes, told jurors not to concern themselves with whether the women were assaulted, but to focus instead on whether a single suspect committed all the attacks.

“From the evidence it will be obvious that these crimes were not committed by one suspect,” he said.

Fuentes, 33, described as a religious, family-loving man by police, has pleaded not guilty to all 56 felony counts on which he is being tried, including multiple charges of rape, attempted rape, forcible oral copulation and sodomy.

In a methodical opening statement, Deputy Dist. Atty. Ron Geltz said all 17 women who were assaulted identified Fuentes in a photo or lineup.

One by one, Geltz described every assault--and every count associated with it--using a map of the Westlake area to illustrate where each one occurred.

In addition to the geographical proximity of the assaults, Geltz cited other similarities to argue that the rapes were all committed by Fuentes: posing as a handyman to enter the victim’s home, using a flashlight to examine the victims’ private parts, and brandishing a weapon, usually a gun or screwdriver, to intimidate victims.

“The common weapons, the common schemes, will show that the defendant committed all 56 counts,” Geltz said.

Fuentes sat solemnly during the opening statements as an interpreter whispered to him what was being said.

Police say the Salvadoran native was a leading suspect in 27 other rapes for which charges were never filed because the victims--mainly poor Latinas--were unwilling to testify, fearing that their families would disown them.

Detectives said there may have been dozens of other victims who never reported their rapes during a series of sexual assaults from 1989 to 1992.

Fuentes has been held without bail since his arrest in May, 1992. His trial was to begin Nov. 29, but it was delayed after he was stabbed and beaten by inmates at a county jail on Nov. 28.