A Hollister man charged by the San Benito County District
Attorney’s Office with forcible rape and sodomy voluntarily turned
himself in to police Wednesday.
A Hollister man charged by the San Benito County District Attorney’s Office with forcible rape and sodomy voluntarily turned himself in to police Wednesday.
Sergio Delgado, 28, with supervision from his attorney, Arthur Cantu, was taken into custody by Hollister police at Cantu’s office at 345 Fifth St. at 2:40 p.m., according to Detective Sgt. Arnie Weathers.
Police issued a warrant for Delgado’s arrest two weeks ago for rape by force or fear, domestic violence, sodomy and oral copulation in concert with force, which are all felonies. Delgado allegedly raped an adult female he had a previous relationship with sometime between July 21 and July 22 on the 800 block of Hillcrest Road, according to police spokesman George Ramirez,. Delgado repeatedly struck the victim and sexually assaulted her throughout the night, according to police.
The victim notified police of the rape on July 22 and was transported by a detective to a San Jose-area hospital, where a Sexual Assault Response Team exam was performed, Ramirez said.
Her injuries were not life-threatening, Ramirez said.
Delgado did not submit to a police interview after he was taken into custody, Weathers said.
Cantu said Delgado is denying all the charges, and would not comment on where his client was during the two weeks that police were searching for him.
“Delgado and his family were very interested in voluntarily surrendering so he can address the charges in court formally,” Cantu said. “We made the arrangements so it could be done with as much cooperation and as quietly as we could under the circumstances.”
Cantu hasn’t read the police reports or seen the evidence the District Attorney’s Office has, he said.
“At some point we will make the decision if there are any charges that he should be found liable for,” he said.
Cantu applauded the arresting officers’ professionalism when taking Delgado into custody.
“They exemplified what it means to be a peace officer, and I commend the chief for giving his officers the discretion for handling these types of cases,” he said. “The police department has really shown professionalism throughout.”
Delgado is being held at the San Benito County Jail in lieu of $350,000 bail.
