The district attorney’s office has charged a 36-year-old man
with nine counts of suspected rape along with other felony
allegations in connection with accusations he held a 40-year-old
Watsonville woman captive and repeatedly raped her over a four-day
stretch before she escaped.
HOLLISTER
The district attorney’s office has charged a 36-year-old man with nine counts of suspected rape along with other felony allegations in connection with accusations he held a 40-year-old Watsonville woman captive and repeatedly raped her over a four-day stretch before she escaped.
Prosecutors on Friday charged Roberto Cavillo – a Mexican citizen originally booked under his alias, Roberto Carranza – with a total of 14 felony counts and another misdemeanor alleging possession of paraphernalia. Six counts allege rape by force or fear. Another three counts allege rape in concert with force or violence.
Additionally, the charging sheet filed at the county courthouse includes three felony counts alleging oral copulation by force, another for false imprisonment and one more for assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm.
Judge Steven Sanders at an afternoon arraignment hearing also increased the suspect’s bail from $150,000 to $300,000. That likely holds little relevance because federal immigration authorities have placed a hold on Cavillo – an illegal immigrant – keeping him at the San Benito County Jail until the proceedings are completed. Cavillo’s next hearing, a continuation of his arraignment Friday, is set for 2 p.m. Tuesday at the courthouse.
Sheriff’s investigators worked with the Watsonville Police Department to arrest Cavillo on Wednesday at a produce company where he had been working. The allegations stem from the span of Aug. 15 to Aug. 17.
According to the sheriff’s office report, the following occurred:
Cavillo met with the victim and invited her to a party at his residence on Chittenden Road, near Aromas. Authorities said the two had gone out a couple of times in the past but that there was no indication they had been involved romantically.
Prior to leaving Watsonville, the victim grabbed a bag of personal items to take along, according to authorities. When the two arrived she was quickly bound and gagged and repeatedly raped over the course of the weekend, said Lt. Roy Iler with the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office.
Around 12:45 a.m. Tuesday, the victim escaped through a window and started walking on Chittenden Road toward Watsonville. A driver stopped after noticing she had looked “distraught and disheveled,” and proceeded to bring her to the Watsonville Police Department. Police detectives there determined, through the help of a sign language translator, that the crime had occurred in San Benito County.
The victim was transported to a Bay Area hospital for treatment and forensic analysis, which authorities allege confirmed she had been sexually assaulted and that it had been done using a knife.
Authorities also learned the identity of the suspect and executed a search warrant of his residence, where authorities found the personal items she had brought to the house.
