Posted on 08/31/2005 10:17:52 AM PDT by SmithL
Ignacio Rafael De La Fuente Jr., the 32-year-old son of the Oakland City Council president, pleaded not guilty to rape charges in an Oakland courtroom on Tuesday.
De La Fuente Jr. is charged with two counts of forcible rape and several related enhancements. His attorney, Jesse Garcia, entered a plea as De La Fuente Jr. stood in street clothes before Alameda County Superior Judge Winifred Smith. De La Fuente Jr. has been in jail without bail since his arrest April 29.
Ignacio De La Fuente, Rafael's father, who is running to replace Mayor Jerry Brown next year, attended the hearing.
A criminal complaint filed in April charges De La Fuente Jr. with two separate forcible rapes: the first in August 2004 and the second -- allegedly of a 15-year-old girl -- on April 16. Both alleged sexual assaults occurred in Oakland. De La Fuente Jr. resides in Redwood City.
An enhancement included with the charges alleges De La Fuente Jr. kidnapped the teen to commit the rape. If convicted as charged, he could be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
An arrest report states that De La Fuente Jr. is linked to each attack by DNA evidence and is further tied to the assault of the 15-year-old by physical injuries sustained by the victim. He surrendered to police after a warrant was obtained for his arrest.
Garcia and prosecutor Kevin Murphy agreed on a Sept. 14 date to hear discovery motions to evaluate evidence in the case and set Oct. 18 as a preliminary hearing court date.
Neither attorney has spoken publicly about the case since Smith imposed a gag order in May.
It's Bush's fault.
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