Indecent Exposure Added to Charges
Chad Schmidt, a Newbury Park teenager accused of rape, made a brief appearance in Ventura County Municipal Court on Thursday as prosecutors added new charges to his case.
In addition to multiple charges of sexual assault and battery, the 18-year-old is now also charged with indecent exposure for allegedly revealing himself to three female inmates, according to court testimony.
The incident allegedly occurred Monday while Schmidt was being taken to juvenile hall, prosecutor Lisa Frawley told a judge during a fitness hearing Tuesday.
At the close of Tuesday’s hearing, Judge Charles R. McGrath ruled that Schmidt, who was 17 at the time of the assaults, was not fit for juvenile court and ordered that the teenager be tried as an adult. Schmidt now faces 23 counts, including rape, sexual assault, attempted sodomy, forcible oral copulation and battery for allegedly attacking five victims in an eight-week span last fall.
In addition to the indecent exposure charge, Frawley said she also added a charge of sexual battery in connection with the earlier incidents.
Schmidt was scheduled to be arraigned on the charges Thursday morning, but a defense attorney requested a two-week postponement. Schmidt is now scheduled to appear in court Oct. 17.
He is being held on $250,000 bail.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
