Two Santa Barbara men were arrested last week on sexual assault charges after a 28-year-old woman reported to police that she had been raped and assaulted by the suspects at a Milpas home last year.
Ubaldo De La Cruz-Gonzalez, 29, and Carlos Rojas-Villafana, 43, both of Santa Barbara, were arrested on multiple felony charges stemming from the sexual assault of the woman, a Santa Barbara resident, according to Sgt. Riley Harwood of the Santa Barbara Police Department.
De La Cruz-Gonzalez is facing charges of rape by force, oral copulation by force and digital penetration by force, and Rojas-Villafana is facing charges of assault with the intent to commit rape, digital penetration by force and sexual battery while the victim was restrained, Harwood said.
The victim reported accompanying a friend to the home, located in the 200 block of North Milpas Street, where both suspects live, around 10 p.m. Oct. 23, 2013, to drink beers, Harwood said.
A short while after arriving, the victim’s friend abruptly departed, leaving the victim with the suspects.
“At approximately 10:40 p.m., the victim attempted to leave but was prevented from doing so and was forcefully and repeatedly sexually assaulted until approximately 7 a.m.,” Harwood said, adding that the victim was released when she convinced De La Cruz-Gonzalez that she needed to be at work that morning.
The victim reported the incident on Oct. 24, when she and an advocate from the Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center came to the Police Department to report the sexual assault.
Interviews, collection of evidence, a forensic medical examination of the victim and surveillance all led to the identification of De La Cruz-Gonzalez and Rojas-Villafana as the suspects in this case, Harwood said.
On Jan. 24, De La Cruz-Gonzalez and Rojas-Villafana were contacted by Santa Barbara police on the 100 block of South Alisos Street where they were working, detailing a car, Harwood said.
Both men were booked into Santa Barbara County Jail with bail set at $100,000.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
