2 Teenagers to Be Tried as Adults in Rape Case

Calling them animals for the rape of an unconscious girl, a Juvenile Court commissioner on Friday ordered two teenage boys to be tried as adults.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Commissioner Jack Gold also berated Alejandro Zamora, 16, and Jose Sanchez, 17, for not helping a fellow 16-year-old classmate from Birmingham High School who had passed out from drinking alcohol during a party.

“Instead, what they decided to do was not just rape her but brutalize her,” Gold said. “These guys were like animals.”

The teenagers have already confessed to the rape, according to statements made in court and a police report.

While Zamora had no criminal record, Sanchez was arrested when he was 15 for possessing a loaded firearm and was sentenced last September, several months before the alleged attack on the girl.

“This court put him on probation,” Gold said. “Maybe it’s my fault. I should have sent him to [juvenile] camp at that time. . . . We had a chance to rehabilitate Sanchez. It didn’t work.”

Along with at least a dozen other youths, Zamora, Sanchez and the girl skipped school last Dec. 1 and attended a party at the Van Nuys house of another teenager whose parents were away at work.

After the girl passed out from drinking, she was carried into a room where, behind a locked and guarded door, several boys took turns sexually assaulting her, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Dan Feldstern.

“This is as close to an inhumane series of acts as I could imagine,” Feldstern said.

Only when another party-goer called the girl’s family was she taken to a hospital. She had a blood-alcohol level of at least 0.32% and was unconscious for about 15 hours, attorneys said.

6 Youths Arrested in Assault on Girl

Police arrested six youths on suspicion of assaulting the girl. To date, four have been charged. Last month, a 14-year-old Van Nuys boy pleaded no contest to being an accessory to rape and was sentenced to juvenile camp. Sanchez’s older brother Nathaniel, 18, is accused of attempted rape and faces a preliminary hearing in Van Nuys Superior Court on Feb. 1.

Police are awaiting the results of a DNA test.

Defense attorneys said they believed the boys do not belong in adult court.

Zamora would benefit more from the juvenile system, which focuses on rehabilitation, said his lawyer, Joe F. Cuadros.

Both boys waived their Miranda rights “and gave statements admitting their part in the rape,” Feldstern said. A 13-page police report, submitted to the court Friday, also details the confessions.

Gold said the teenagers deserved to be tried in adult court because of the gravity of their offense and their degree of criminal sophistication. He also noted Sanchez’s prior record.

Their bail was set at $50,000 each. Both are expected to be charged in Van Nuys Superior Court next week.