Trial ordered for man in alleged convenience store rape
A man accused of holding a 19-year-old woman inside an El Monte store and repeatedly raping her was ordered Thursday by an L.A. County Superior Court judge in Pomona to stand trial.
Prosecutors allege that on Oct. 19, Joseph Leo Amaya, who had approached the woman earlier, forced himself into the convenience store on the 4100 block of Peck Road as the woman, who was working a night shift, was closing up.
After entering, he locked the doors behind him and dragged the woman to the back of the store, where he raped her repeatedly.
Amaya, 18, faces two counts of forcible rape, two counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object and one count of attempted sexual penetration by a foreign object by force.
He remains in custody on $5 million bail. A conviction on all charges could result in a prison sentence of life to 125 years. He is scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 27.
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Twitter: @James_Barragan
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