Ex-Firefighter Who Served In Temecula Seeks Jail Release Following Rape Charges

TEMECULA, CA — A 51-year-old ex-firefighter accused of sexually assaulting three women — including while he was on duty in Temecula — will ask a judge on Wednesday to consider lowering his bail so he can get out of jail.

David Renteria III of Placentia was arrested in April following a Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigation initiated last fall.

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Renteria is charged with four counts of forcible rape, two counts of sodomy and one count each of kidnapping to commit rape, forcible oral copulation, assault with intent to commit rape, false imprisonment, sexual battery and indecent exposure, with sentence-enhancing allegations of targeting multiple individuals in sex crimes.

During his arraignment last month, the defendant's attorney submitted a motion for bail review to Superior Court Judge Judith Clark, who's slated to hear arguments from both the defense and prosecution Wednesday at the Southwest Justice Center concerning whether to adjust the former fireman's $7 million bond requirement.

Renteria, who has no documented prior felony convictions, is being held at the nearby Byrd Detention Center.

His position with Cal Fire, which has long contracted with the county to provide fire protection services, was terminated in May.

The District Attorney's Office's complaint identified the three alleged victims by their initials — "B.E.," "D.T." and "H.R."

Few details about the alleged assaults were provided in the prosecution's documents. However, in early May, Los Angeles-based attorney David Ring filed a claim on behalf of B.E., notifying Cal Fire of the woman's intent to sue the agency stemming from Renteria's alleged offenses.

The claim's narrative provided a brief overview of the victim's encounter with the defendant in November.

The plaintiff had evidently met the defendant in a casual setting, though details weren't specified. On the night of Nov. 6, he invited her to visit him at his workplace — Station No. 96 on Glen Oaks Road in Temecula, according to the civil case brief.

Shortly after her arrival, Renteria led her to a "shed in the back of the station," the document said.

"Renteria immediately forced himself on her, violently raping her multiple times and forcing her to orally copulate him," according to the brief. "Renteria also made claimant walk back to the fire station, naked, so that he could take pictures of her wearing his firefighter turnouts. After taking numerous photos of her inside the station, Renteria took her back to the shed, where he continued to sexually assault her."

The woman was sodomized during the six-hour ordeal, and when she asked to leave the shed in the middle of the night, Renteria allegedly threatened to harm her children if she tried to go, the plaintiff said.

He ultimately released her at 5 a.m. Nov. 7 as daylight appeared, according to the narrative. There was no word on where the other fire personnel were at the time, and no explanation for the inactive status of the station for the entire night.

The victim relayed her alleged experiences to a friend, identified only as a retired firefighter, and that individual in turn contacted the sheriff's department.

Ring is not representing the other two women — D.T. and H.R.

The criminal filing said D.T. was allegedly assaulted over an unspecified period last Halloween. Prosecutors alleged she was sodomized and abused in other ways. The exact circumstances were not divulged.

In the case of H.R., the alleged attack on her largely involved battering and groping, all of which occurred on Nov. 20, according to the prosecution. No other details were disclosed.

Renteria was first taken into custody on April 24 and posted an unspecified bond, after which he was released. Jail records indicated that he was re-arrested at his residence on Magnolia Avenue by deputies a few days later.

The claim against Cal Fire listed negligence, as well as state and federal civil rights violations, as the causes of action for the lawsuit, which will include requests for compensatory and punitive damages, Ring said.