| For Immediate Release Case # 11NF3229
November 2, 2011 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
MAN TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR SEXUALLY ASSAULTING WOMAN ON HALLOWEEN AS SHE SLEPT NEXT TO HUSBAND AFTER BREAKING INTO ANAHEIM HOME
SANTA ANA – A man was charged today with breaking into the home of an Anaheim couple on Halloween night and sexually assaulting a woman as she slept next to her husband. Christopher David Schwanke, 35, Huntington Beach, is charged with one felony count each of sexual penetration by foreign object by force, sexual penetration by foreign object of an unconscious victim, and first degree residential burglary of an inhabited dwelling. He is also charged with sentencing enhancement allegations for committing a sexual offense in the commission of a burglary, having a non-accomplice present during a residential burglary, and two prior prison convictions for petty theft with a prior in 2006 and possession of methamphetamine in 2007. If convicted, Schwanke faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in state prison. The People will be requesting Schwanke be held on $1 million bail at his arraignment today, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011, in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana. The time is to be determined.
On the evening of Oct. 31, 2011, Jane Doe and her husband were handing out candy to treat-or-treaters and observed Schwanke in the neighborhood in an unincorporated area of Anaheim. The victims do not know the defendant. At approximately 10:30 p.m., the couple went to bed.
Shortly after 11:00 p.m., Schwanke is accused of breaking into the victim’s home through a back door. He is accused of entering the bedroom, where Jane Doe and her husband were sleeping, and sexually assaulting the victim by digitally penetrating her as she slept.
Jane Doe awoke when she felt a man’s hand on her vagina and believed it was her husband. The victim then realized her husband was asleep and woke him up. Schwanke is accused of lying on the floor next to Jane Doe’s side of the bed in an effort to hide. The victim’s husband found the defendant and tackled him, holding him while Jane Doe called 911.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD), who investigated this case, responded to the scene and arrested Schwanke.
Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact Supervising District Attorney Investigator Lou Gutierrez at (714) 347-8794 or the OCSD tip hotline at (855) TIP-OCCS.
Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Nichols of the Sexual Assault Unit is prosecuting this case.
###