Man Convicted In String Of NorCal Rapes
MARTINEZ, Calif. (AP) -- A jury has convicted a Richmond man of kidnapping and raping four women and a teenage girl over seven years.
The jurors took four hours Monday to find 27-year-old Manuel Caldera guilty of 25 felonies and a court clerk an hour-and-a-half to read all the verdicts.
The Contra Costa Times reports that Caldera was charged with kidnapping, robbery, rape, sodomy and other sex crimes. He faces a maximum sentence of 400 years to life.
The attacks were carried out between Christmas 2003 and April 2009. Three of the victims were prostitutes with whom Caldera had consensual sex before he used guns or knives to force the women into acts against their will.
The 16-year-old victim was a family friend whom Caldera had offered to accompany to a party with her parents' permission. Instead, he took her to a Richmond motel and raped her.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
