Crime & Safety
Sonoma County DA: Man Faces 8 Years for Raping Drunk Friend
"Having sex with someone who is too intoxicated to understand and consent to it is rape," said DA Jill Ravitch, in trial of Santa Rosa man. Jury deliberated 90 minutes.
A Santa Rosa man faces eight years in prison next month when he is sentenced for raping an intoxicated woman, the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office said Tuesday.
The Sonoma County Superior Court jury deliberated about 90 minutes on Thursday before convicting Luis Rangel Rea, 53, of raping the 23-year-old woman on Feb. 13, 2013. Rea and the woman were friends and agreed to go out for dinner, District Attorney Jill Ravitch said.
The woman drank alcohol and lost her memory regarding the details of the remainder of the night, Ravitch said.
She woke up in the vehicle with Rea and realized she had been raped because of the condition of her clothing, Ravitch said.
A medical examination corroborated the sexual assault, Ravitch said.
Rea denied raping the woman but later admitted it to a friend and bragged about having sex with the woman while she was intoxicated, Ravitch said.
The jury could have convicted Rea of a separate count of raping an unconscious woman, but convicted him of raping an intoxicated victim.
"Having sex with someone who is too intoxicated to understand and consent to it is rape," Ravitch said. "Though the rapist hopes to get away with it, we encourage victims to come forward so we can pursue all investigative means possible to prosecute these cases and obtain justice."
Rea will be sentenced April 24.
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