MOORPARK : 2 Arrested in Threats to Witness in Rape
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Sheriff’s deputies have arrested two Moorpark residents on suspicion of assaulting or intimidating a 13-year-old witness in the rape of a 12-year-old girl, authorities said.
Claudia Mendez, 18, was taken into custody March 2 and released from County Jail on Tuesday. She was charged March 4 with threatening a witness, a misdemeanor, and is scheduled to appear March 21 for a preliminary hearing.
Miguel Morales, 21, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of threatening the same witness. He was being held without bail in County Jail for allegedly violating the terms of his parole and was scheduled to be arraigned today in Ventura County Municipal Court.
The arrests came after the 13-year-old boy told deputies that Morales punched him in the back of the head and Mendez threatened him with a knife, according to Sheriff’s Sgt. Marty Rouse.
Mendez is described as the girlfriend of Roberto Magdaleno, 22, who is accused of raping the 12-year-old Nov. 1 inside a recently constructed house, which was vacant.
The case is scheduled to go to trial April 25, Deputy Dist. Atty. Rebecca Day said.
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