One of two teenage boys accused of attacking and raping a pair of young girls in Rancho Peñasquitos last year was convicted Friday of 21 counts of rape, kidnapping and other charges.
Leonel Contreras, 17, now faces multiple life sentences that could total more than 300 years in state prison.
Leonel Contreras, 16, pleaded not guilty in San Diego Superior Court to the sexual assault of two teen girls in a Rancho Penasquitos park on Sept. 3. His co-defendant, William Rodriguez, 16, also entered a not guilty plea. — John R. McCutchen
The verdicts for William Steven Rodriguez, 17, who was charged along with Contreras, will be read Monday morning. Rodriguez’s jury reached them last week after deliberating about a day and a half.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Peter Deddeh ordered the verdicts sealed until the Contreras jury had concluded its deliberations.
It was just before 4 p.m. Friday when the Contreras jury reached its verdicts. That did not allow enough time to summon all of the jurors in Rodriguez’s case to downtown San Diego before the courthouse closed.
The boys were tried as adults in front of separate juries.
Several jurors cried as Deddeh read the lengthy verdicts. Outside of court, the girls’ family members embraced the jurors.
Deputy District Attorney Wendy Patrick said the guilty verdicts on all charges were a victory for the girls and their families.
“Cases like this are emotional for everyone involved,” Patrick said outside court.
Contreras showed no visible emotion as the verdicts were read. He sat stoically, occasionally rocking slightly back and forth in his chair.
Patrick argued in trial that the boys, who had such a close friendship that they referred to one another as cousins, were looking for someone to rob on Sept. 3, 2011, when they came across the girls sitting together in a park off Spindletop Road.
The girls, who 15 and 16 at the time, were sitting and talking under a tree when they were attacked from behind. One of the attackers had a knife.
The girls were forced across a street and up a dirt slope into an alcove surrounded by bushes. They were then subjected to a prolonged sexual assault that traumatized the victims physically and emotionally, the prosecutor said.
Eventually, the parents of one of the victims noticed they were missing from a family party and went looking for them, calling their names as they searched the neighborhood.
The girls were let go.
When police were notified of the crime, a helicopter was dispatched to the area, alerting neighbors to the crime and asking for information leading to the suspects. Witnesses described two young Latino males who had been seen together that night riding the same BMX bike.
Authorities were alerted to Rodriguez through graffiti found near the area where the rapes occurred. They later learned of Contreras.
The boys eventually confessed to the crime. DNA evidence also pointed to Rodriguez.
Attorney Michael Begovich, who represented Contreras, argued that there was no DNA evidence that connected his client to the rapes. He said Contreras was a scared boy who was coerced by investigators into making a false confession. He was 16 at the time of his arrest.
How awful for the victims to have to endure such violence. I hope they can heal from this, which is very difficult.
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