A man is facing multiple felony charges in connection with sexual assaults on three women in Santa Barbara earlier this year.
The charges were filed last week against Honorio Meliton-Fidel, 34, of Santa Barbara, according to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office.
The alleged attacks occurred in January, February and May, according to the criminal complaint filed against Meliton-Fidel.
The alleged victims were identified in the complaint only as Jane Does 1, 2 and 3.
The felony charges against Meliton-Fidel include rape of a drugged victim; rape of a person who is unconscious or asleep; rape by force, fear, threats or duress; sodomy by force; and sexual penetration with a foreign object.
He also is facing multiple special allegations that could increase his sentence if he is convicted.
Meliton-Fidel pleaded not guilty to all charges during an arraignment hearing last week before Superior Court Judge Thomas R. Adams in Santa Barbara.
He remained in custody Wednesday afternoon at the Santa Barbara County Jail, with bail set at $100,000.
Adams ruled that Meliton-Fidel should undergo GPS monitoring should he be released from jail, and ordered that he have no contact with his alleged victims.
Meliton-Fidel allegedly raped Jane Doe 1, a 56-year-old woman, while she was unconscious or asleep on Jan. 23, according to the complaint.
That assault occurred in Pershing Park, according to Sgt. Ethan Ragsdale of the Santa Barbara Police Department.
On Feb. 26, he allegedly raped and sodomized Jane Doe 2, a 39-year-old woman, according to the complaint.
That attack happened in the downtown Santa Barbara corridor, Ragsdale said.
The assault on Jane Doe 3, a 56-year-old woman, occurred on May 21 on the 200 block of West Carrillo Street, Ragsdale said.
Meliton-Fidel is charged with sexual penetration with a foreign object — his finger — in that attack, according to the complaint.
“Detectives were investigating these cases as independent investigations, and there was nothing specific that would lead investigators to believe that these crimes were connected or committed by the same suspect,” Ragsdale said.
“Once evidence was received, detectives determined these three cases were linked and connected to a single suspect, Meliton-Fidal.”
Meliton-Fidel is due back in court Thursday for a preliminary hearing setting before Judge Pauline Maxwell.
Anyone who has information related to this case — or believes they may be a victim of a similar crime, — is asked to contact Detective Adam Mik of the Santa Barbara Police Department at 805.897.2345.