D.A. Drops Rape Charges Against Saugus High Teen

Rape charges have been dropped against a 17-year-old Castaic boy accused of assaulting a classmate at Saugus High School, Los Angeles district attorney’s officials said Wednesday.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Carolyn McNary said the 15-year-old girl who accused the boy of raping her has decided not to testify, leaving prosecutors no choice but to drop the charges.

“It was her choice,” McNary said. “By law she does not have to testify, and she chose not to.”

Last month, a Sylmar Juvenile Court judge ruled that the boy, who was 16 at the time of the alleged assault, was unfit to be tried as a minor and transferred the case to San Fernando Municipal Court.

McNary said she was unsure whether switching the case from Juvenile Court--where proceedings are kept secret--to Superior Court--where they become public record--influenced the girl’s decision not to testify.

“This can be a very long process,” McNary said. “I believe, given her age, she and her family decided the best thing for her was to get on with her life.”

The boy had pleaded not guilty to one count each of rape with a foreign object, attempted rape and false imprisonment.

The alleged attack took place May 27 during a graphic arts class at Saugus High School. Police said the boy forced the girl into a storage room adjacent to the photography darkroom and assaulted her.

He is a known gang member who was on probation for other crimes at the time of the attack, police said.

The boy’s lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Richard Petherbridge, said his client learned of the girl’s decision Tuesday during a scheduled preliminary hearing in Municipal Court. Petherbridge then filed a motion to dismiss the charges, which was approved by Municipal Court Commissioner Gerald Richardson.

“I had spoken to the district attorney and we were aware there was a possibility that the girl would not testify, but we didn’t know for sure until we came into court,” Petherbridge said.

The boy was released Tuesday from Juvenile Hall where he had been held since his arrest in May.