Rape Suspect Out on Bail Set by Appeals Court

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department on Wednesday said that a man suspected of drugging and raping five women has been released on bail.

Dick Tilman Hunt, 67, of Long Beach, who was arrested last August after allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting a 55-year-old Laguna Niguel woman, was released from Orange County Jail last Friday after posting $500,000 bail set by the 4th District Court of Appeal.

Five Orange County judges had denied Hunt bail before the appellate court ruled on the issue, according to Sheriff’s Department Lt. Ron Wilkerson.

“The guy is out of jail. We just want people to know that,” Wilkerson said.

Hunt’s attorney, William Kopeny, accused the Sheriff’s Department of trying to undermine his client’s right to a fair trial by issuing a statement of “half truths.”

Kopeny pointed out that the Sheriff’s Department statement made no mention of the fact that his client is confined to electronic home detention and has other restrictions on his bail.

“I’ve never seen the Sheriff’s Department so blatantly protesting a decision enforcing the constitutional rights of a person who is presumed to be innocent,” Kopeny said. “They’re smarting because they lost a round.”

Investigators believe Hunt placed personal ads in various publications to contact women, including the Laguna Niguel victim. Wilkerson said investigators believe Hunt contacted up to 100 women through the ads.

Three of the women Hunt is accused of assaulting are from Orange County, while two others are from Los Angeles County, Wilkerson said. Investigators also believe other women may have encountered Hunt through the ads.

A search of Hunt’s home before he was arrested turned up a variety of drugs in large amounts, Wilkerson said.