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Three men arrested in videotaped rape of unconscious woman in Orange County

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Two Santa Ana College football players and a male friend were charged with raping and sexually assaulting a drunk or unconscious woman last summer and videotaping the crime, Orange County prosecutors said Friday.

John Paul Foster II, 22, of Seaside in Monterey County, and Michael Alexander Clemmons, 19, of Tustin were arrested and arraigned this week in the July 2008 assault. The third suspect, Luster Ditto Lewis, 20, of Irvine, turned himself in Friday and was arraigned.

The three men, friends from Tustin High School, are each charged with multiple felonies. If convicted, they each face a maximum of 18 years in prison.

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Clemmons is a running back for the Santa Ana College team, and Lewis is a wide receiver, according to the school’s website.

Authorities say the men were drinking at the Key Inn hotel in the 1600 block of El Camino Real in Tustin. The 18-year-old victim, who knew the defendants through her boyfriend, came to the hotel after Lewis called her, police said.

She later passed out. Foster allegedly videotaped Clemmons and Lewis undressing the woman, positioning her body on the floor and assaulting her multiple times. Prosecutors accuse Foster of handing off the camera to sexually assault the woman and urinate on her.

Police are still investigating whether the woman was drinking and what caused her to pass out.

An associate of one suspect discovered the 19-minute recording Dec. 28 and gave it to police, Tustin police Lt. John Strain said.

All three suspects are being held in the Orange County Jail on $100,000 bail.

Santa Ana College officials are “reviewing the details of the charges,” college spokeswoman Nikita Flynn said.

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Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Supervising Dist. Atty. Investigator Randy Litwin at (714) 347-8794 or Tustin Police Det. John Alvarado (714) 573-3250.

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susannah.rosenblatt @latimes.com

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