| For Immediate Release Case # 09WF1803 April 19, 2012 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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MAN FACES TRIAL FOR KIDNAPPING AND SEXUALLY ASSAULTING 7-YEAR-OLD DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED GIRL
WESTMINSTER – A man faces trial today for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 7-year-old developmentally disabled girl. Daniel Vlas Flores, 30, Huntington Beach, is charged with one felony count each of sexual intercourse with a child 10 years old or younger, sodomy of a child 10 years old or younger, kidnapping to commit a sexual offense, and sexual penetration of a child 10 years old or younger. If convicted, Flores faces a sentence of life in state prison. Opening statements are expected to begin this morning, Thursday, April 19, 2012, in Department W-9, West Justice Center, Westminster.
On Aug. 19, 2009, 7-year-old Jane Doe was playing with an 8-year-old neighbor and a babysitter in a Huntington Beach apartment complex yard on the 7800 Block of Sycamore Avenue. While the babysitter wasn’t looking, Flores is accused of walking over to the children, telling them that he needed someone to help him move furniture in his apartment, and asking Jane Doe to help him.
Flores is accused of pulling Jane Doe by the hand and walking her to his nearby apartment while she repeatedly told him she did not want to go. He is accused of taking her inside his apartment and sexually assaulting Jane Doe by raping, sodomizing, and digitally penetrating the victim.
Jane Doe’s 8-year-old friend became concerned when the victim didn’t return and went to look for her. The friend went to the apartment and was able to unlatch a sliding door and open it slightly. With the door open, Jane Doe was able to run out of the room and escape.
The victim told her mother about the sexual assault and the Huntington Beach Police Department arrested Flores that day. The defendant is accused of being further linked to the crime through DNA evidence.
Deputy District Attorney Eric Scarbrough of the Sexual Assault Unit is prosecuting this case.
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