Berkeley Man To Stand Trial For Rape

From Bay City News Service

A judge in Martinez Wednesday ordered Berkeley resident to stand trial on charges that he raped one woman and tried to sexually assault two others at a Walnut Creek apartment complex in the summer of 2010.

Mouton, 23, will stand trial on one count of rape, two counts of attempted rape, three counts of residential burglary and two counts of assault with intent to commit a felony, Judge Claire Maier ruled.

The decision came at the conclusion of a lengthy preliminary hearing in which the judge heard experts testify about DNA evidence linking the defendant to the three victims in the attacks inside the gated Park Regency Apartments in unincorporated Walnut Creek in June, July and August 2010.

Mouton's family members have said that his mother lives near the apartment complex in the 3100 block of Oak Road where the attacks occurred.

In two of the cases, the women were able to break free, but on July 6, 2010, the attacker raped a woman after entering her unlocked apartment, according to the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office.
          
Mouton turned himself in that August and pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. If convicted, he could face 25 years to life in prison, attorneys said.

On Wednesday, the defense said cellphone records show Mouton was likely elsewhere during the attacks.

But Maier disagreed, and said she believed the phone records provided "damning" evidence against the defendant, in addition to sketches of him drawn based on suspect descriptions given by the three victims.

"All of them quite well match Mr. Mouton," the judge said.

Mouton is set to return to Contra Costa County Superior Court for arraignment on Jan. 23.