| For Immediate Release Case # 09HF1141
June 26, 2009 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Public Affairs Counsel Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
EMT TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR RAPING INCAPACITATED FEMALE PATIENT IN HOSPITAL ROOM
NEWPORT BEACH – An Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) has been charged with raping a female patient in a hospital room while she was unable to resist due to intoxication. Jesse Karim Pena, 31, Winchester, CA, is charged with one felony count of rape of an intoxicated person and faces a maximum sentence of eight years in state prison if convicted. The People will be requesting $500,000 bail at the defendant’s arraignment Monday, June 29, 2009, at 9:00 a.m. at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach. The Department is to be determined.
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 alone in a hospital room and unable to resist due to intoxication, Pena is accused of entering the room while on-duty as an EMT, raping the victim, and leaving. Jane Doe reported the rape to hospital personnel, who called
9-1-1.
The defendant is accused of logging himself into the victim’s room on Feb. 21, 2009. DNA found on the victim’s hospital gown linked Pena to the crime. Pena was arrested at a family member’s home in Ontario, CA, on June 25, 2009.
Pena is an independent contractor EMT who may also have worked at other hospitals in Orange County and the San Diego area. Anyone with additional information or who believes they may have been a victim is encouraged to contact Supervising District Attorney Investigator Randy Litwin at (714) 347-8794 or the Orange County Sheriff’s Department at (714) 647-7042.
Deputy District Attorney Tony Ferrentino of the Sexual Assault Unit is prosecuting this case.
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