Multiple Rape Suspect Faces Additional Charges
Orange County prosecutors added eight new charges--including one of attempted rape--Friday against a forklift operator accused in a string of brutal sexual assaults in Santa Ana.
Eduardo Alberto Guzman now faces 41 charges in connection with a series of street robberies, abductions and sexual assaults that terrified a Santa Ana neighborhood. Guzman, 22, is alleged to have sexually assaulted nine women, three of whom were raped, from June to October, prosecutors said.
The new charges include four robberies, a weapons violation and three sexual-assault allegations involving one victim. If convicted, Guzman could be sentenced to seven life terms and an additional 300 years in prison, Deputy Dist. Atty. Ed Flores said.
Santa Ana Police Sgt. Raul Luna said detectives linked Guzman to the new crimes after studying attacks on women committed about the same time as the other assaults.
Guzman, who lived with his girlfriend and their 2-year-old son near the scene of the attacks, has not entered a plea. He is scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 4 at Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.
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.
