Arcadia Man Faces 5 More Charges Of Rape, Kidnapping
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A 29-year-old man was charged Friday with kidnapping a woman from the street and raping her repeatedly, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said.
Philippe Mengi Brian Lutete of Arcadia was previously charged with false imprisonment by violence and sexual battery by restraint in a previous case. Lutete was charged Friday.0 with two more counts of forcible rape and one count each of kidnapping to commit rape, forcible oral copulation and assault with intent to commit rape.
Lutete also faces special allegations of personally using a dangerous and deadly weapon and committing great bodily injury during the commission of the crime.
He was first charged on Jan. 26 after several months of investigation into an attempted sexual assault on Nov. 26. Deputy District Attorney Rena Durrant says Lutete met a woman in La Puente and brought her back to his home in unincorporated Arcadia and tried to sexually assault her, but she managed to escape through a second story window and call 911.
Following his arrest, Lutete was freed on bail.
Lutete is suspected of kidnapping a woman from a main thoroughfare street and took her back to his home, where he raped her over many hours, Durrant said. At some point, the woman was able to get the attention of a neighbor, who called sheriff's deputies.
When authorities arrived, they broke down Lutete's door and found the woman, but Lutete escaped through a window, Durrant said. He was later captured by sheriff's deputies.
District Attorney's officials say Lutete was scheduled to be arraigned Friday on the new charges, but that was continued to May 19.
Lutete, whose bail was set at $3.25 million, faces a maximum sentence of life in state prison if convicted as charged.