2 Convicted In Connection With Rape, Beating Of SF Woman

NOVATO, CA — A Novato man was convicted Monday in connection with the 2018 kidnapping, beating and rape of a San Francisco woman, the Sonoma County District Attorney’s office said in a statement.

Fredi Lopez-Flores, 37, was among two defendants convicted in the case, prosecutors said. Christian May Quintero, 27 of Sonoma, was the other.

Lopez-Flores and Quintero were both convicted of six counts of forceable sex acts while acting in concert, prosecutors said.

Each count carries a possible sentence of 25 years to life imprisonment.

Lopez- Flores has a prior strike on a conviction for charges of dissuading a witness in 2018, prosecutors said.

The defendants were identified using DNA analysis, prosecutors said.

“This was a tragic case, and the young victim showed incredible strength testifying and facing her attackers,” Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch said in a statement.

The victim, identified in court as Jane Doe, was kidnapped in the early morning hours of April 14, 2018, in San Francisco by Quintero and forced into a car being driven by Lopez-Flores, prosecutors said.

“Once in the car, Quintero savagely beat and strangled the victim, causing significant injuries,” prosecutors said in a statement.

Lopez-Flores and Quintero drove the victim to a vacant Sonoma parking lot, where both men raped and sodomized the victim.

The victim’s cloths were thrown from the vehicle and she was told to “get out,” prosecutors said.

The victim was walking in the middle of West Napa Street when a Safeway employee found her in an interaction captured on video that was played for the jury, prosecutors said.

Defense attorneys argued that the victim was intoxicated at the time and that her testimony was unreliable, The Press Democrat reports.

Prosecutors told the jury during closing statements last week that the case belonged to the victim, The Press Democrat reports.

“Even though you have an important decision ahead of you, this case will never truly be your case. This case belongs to Jane Doe,” Deputy District Attorney Matt Hubley said at trial, according to the report.

“It’s hard to watch Jane Doe’s testimony and not feel she at least blames herself in part in some way. You as members of the jury have an incredible opportunity to help Jane Doe understand, ‘This is not your fault.’ ”

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorneys Hubley and Alex Fisher, with assistance from Investigator Robyn Fuentes. Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office detective Brian Parks led the investigation.