| For Immediate Release Case # 09HF1141
November 13, 2009 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Public Affairs Counsel Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
EMT CONVICTED OF RAPING INCAPACITATED FEMALE PATIENT IN HOSPITAL ROOM
NEWPORT BEACH – An Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) was convicted today of raping a female patient in a hospital room while she was unable to resist due to intoxication. Jesse Karim Pena, 32, Winchester, CA, pleaded guilty to the court to one felony count of rape of an intoxicated person. He was sentenced to three years in state prison and ordered to register as a sex offender.
At approximately 12:00 a.m. on Feb. 21, 2009, 31-year-old Jane Doe was taken in an ambulance to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo. While on-duty as an EMT, Pena logged himself into the victim’s hospital room while she was alone and unable to resist due to intoxication. The defendant raped the victim and left. Jane Doe reported the rape to hospital personnel, who called 9-1-1.
DNA found on the victim’s hospital gown linked Pena to the crime. He was arrested at a family member’s home in Ontario, CA, on June 25, 2009. At the time of the rape, Pena was an independent contractor EMT who may also have worked at other hospitals in Orange County and the San Diego area.
During the sentencing today, a letter was submitted to the court by the victim, who explained that the sexual assault committed against her by Pena has made coping with daily life more difficult. She asked, “How do [rape victims] do it? At times I don’t even know who I am anymore.”
Deputy District Attorney Tony Ferrentino of the Sexual Assault Unit prosecuted this case.
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