Captured In Yucaipa, Charged With Rape: Trial Now Ordered

RIVERSIDE, CA — A parolee accused of abducting and raping a Riverside woman must stand trial on felony charges, a judge ruled Thursday.

Carlos Romero, 33, was arrested in Yucaipa in February 2019 after a roughly five-month Riverside Police Department investigation.

Following a preliminary hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Samuel Diaz found there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial on one count each of kidnapping to commit rape, forcible rape, oral copulation by force or fear, robbery, sodomy and assault resulting in great bodily injury.

Diaz scheduled a post-preliminary hearing for Jan. 4 and kept bail at $1 million for the defendant, who's being held at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.

According to Officer Ryan Railsback, the victim was confronted by Romero on Sept. 1, 2018, in the La Sierra neighborhood south of Riverside Municipal Airport, and during the encounter, the convicted felon allegedly transported her to another location where she was sexually assaulted.

Police did not detail any of the circumstances behind the alleged attack.

Following the months-long investigation, detectives ultimately identified Romero as the alleged perpetrator. He was tracked down by U.S. Marshals in Yucaipa, where he was taken into custody without a struggle on Feb. 8, 2019.

According to court records, the defendant has prior convictions for auto theft, felony evading, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and parole violations.