MAN FOUND GUILTY OF TRABUCO CANYON SEXUAL ASSAULT

MAN FOUND GUILTY OF TRABUCO CANYON
SEXUAL ASSAULT
*Guilty of violently beating woman with intent to rape and leaving her to die

SANTA ANA – A Rancho Santa Margarita man was found guilty today of brutally beating and sexually assaulting a 20-year-old woman he did not know in Trabuco Canyon.  Raul Salvador Marin, 33, Rancho Santa Margarita, was found guilty of attempted murder with premeditation and deliberation, assault with the intent to commit rape, sexual penetration by a foreign object by force, kidnapping to commit rape, and two counts of aggravated assault, with enhancements for causing great bodily injury to the victim, the personal use of a deadly weapon, and kidnapping.  He faces up to 75 years to life in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on January 12, 2007 at 8:30 a.m. in Department C-3, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.  

On June 14, 2004, Marin and a group of campers, who had met Jane Doe earlier in the day, were at a campsite in Trabuco Canyon.  When Jane Doe left the site, Marin followed her and chased her down a desolate dirt road.  When he caught up with her, he pushed her off the road into brush and began violently attacker her.  He beat her repeatedly with blunt force to the head using a rock, strangled her, and sexually assaulted her.  Marin then left Jane Doe near-death lying in the bushes.  A pair of bicyclists found her the following the day. She was transported to Western Medical Center and later moved to Massachusetts for continued medical treatment.  Jane Doe, who appeared in court to testify against Marin, narrowly survived the brutal attack and continues to suffer from residual brain damage.     

“This victim suffered horrifying injuries from head to toe.  Mr. Marin is a violent predator and deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison for what he did to this innocent young woman,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney Mike Fell of the Sexual Assault Unit, who prosecuted this case.

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