A judge today ruled there was insufficient evidence for a trial
in the case against a 36-year-old man accused of repeatedly raping
a woman while holding her hostage over a four-day stretch before
her escape.
A judge today ruled there was insufficient evidence for a trial in the case against a 36-year-old man accused of repeatedly raping a woman while holding her hostage over a four-day stretch before her escape.
Roberto Cavillo had been charged on suspicion of nine counts of suspected rape along with other felony allegations in connection with accusations he held the 40-year-old Watsonville woman captive and repeatedly raped her in August.
At today’s preliminary hearing – in which a judge rules where the evidence is sufficient enough – it was determined Cavillo should be released from custody.
Public Defender Gregory LaForge, Cavillo’s attorney, said the suspected victim’s testimony was “replete with inaccuracies.”
Prosecutors in August 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 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.
Sheriff’s investigators worked with the Watsonville Police Department to arrest Cavillo 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 was suspected of occurring:
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 reported she was quickly bound and gagged and repeatedly raped over the course of the weekend.
Around 12:45 a.m. Aug. 17, the victim escaped through a window and started walking on Chittenden Road toward Watsonville, the sheriff’s report alleged. 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 a 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.
