23-YEAR-OLD MAN CONVICTED OF RAPING AND BEATING 73-YEAR-OLD GRANDMOTHER IN A DUMPSTER

23-YEAR-OLD MAN CONVICTED
OF RAPING AND BEATING 73-YEAR-OLD
GRANDMOTHER IN A DUMPSTER

SANTA ANA – A 23-year-old man was convicted today of raping and beating a 73-year-old grandmother in a dumpster as she was collecting recyclables.  Patrick Daniel Piceno, Lake Elsinore, was found guilty of felony forcible rape causing great bodily injury and felony elder abuse. The jury also found true the sentencing enhancements for causing great bodily injury to a sexual assault victim, committing a crime against a vulnerable victim, and causing great bodily injury to an elder. Piceno now faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in prison at his sentencing on July 17, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-3, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.

At approximately 5:00 a.m. on May 31, 2005, 73-year-old Jane Doe was collecting cans in Garden Grove. The victim lived in Orange County with her husband, children, and grandchildren, and collected recyclables early in the morning to supplement the family income. Piceno, who was living in Garden Grove at the time, watched the victim enter an enclosed dumpster area and followed her inside. He pushed Jane Doe from behind up against the wall, raped her, and repeatedly punched her in the face and body, rendering her unconscious and leaving her for dead. Piceno fled the scene and took the victim’s hat with him as a trophy.

The victim was discovered approximately 30 minutes later by a trash man, who found Jane Doe on the ground between two dumpsters. The victim suffered severe facial bruising, lacerations, swelling, broken ribs, bleeding in the brain, bruising on her arms and legs, and sexual injuries.

Piceno was arrested December 6, 2005 after being linked to the crime through DNA evidence.

Deputy District Attorney Kal Kaliban of the Sexual Assault Unit is prosecuting this case.

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