Teen accused in rape may not be competent to face charges

A 13-year-old Santa Rosa boy facing charges he participated in a kidnapping and gang rape of a teen girl is not competent to stand trial, according to two separate evaluations performed by health care professionals.

Evaluations of the young teen by a psychologist and a psychiatrist determined he is unable to participate in his defense, said defense attorney Patricia Long. Those evaluations were presented in juvenile court Tuesday.

But what that means to the prosecution, which includes three adult males, and the future of the young teen remained unclear Tuesday. The teen will return to juvenile court in two weeks to determine if he must answer for the charges.

“At this point, he is not competent to aid in his defense,” said Long. “We’re taking two weeks for all sides to brief and decide where to go with this.”

District attorney spokesman Spencer Brady said the juvenile court is continuing to investigate the boy’s competency and considering the case.

The youth and three men, one who is a relative of the boy, are accused of forcing a 15-year-old Santa Rosa girl into a car on the night of April 6. They drove to nearby Comstock Middle School in northwest Santa Rosa and over a period of time, raped and assaulted her, police said.

The “in concert” rape charge stemmed from an accusation that as one person raped her, the others held her down, police said.

At one point, one of the men held her by the throat, leading to a charge of assault with a deadly weapon for attempting to strangle her.

The four also are charged with forced oral copulation. The adults have an additional charge of forcing the girl to take drugs — some kind of white powder, according to court records.

The girl doesn’t live in the area but was there that evening visiting with friends at a home on North Dutton Avenue. Between 7:30 and 8 p.m. she was walking toward Coffey Lane and the home of a relative, police said.

On Coffey Lane, the men pulled up and two of the four forced her into their SUV, police said.

The incident lasted from after 7:30 to about 9 p.m. when she was dropped off by the men in east Santa Rosa at a grocery store parking lot.

The adults, Oscar Anibal Magana-Aristando, 20, Salvador Armando Rivas, 18, and Alejandro Corado, 30, have pleaded not guilty to the five charges against each of them.

They remained in custody Tuesday in lieu of $400,000 bail each for the charges and a no-bail immigration hold because they are believed to be in the country illegally.

They are due back in court May 20.

The youth appeared in juvenile court Tuesday morning. Testimony from a psychologist and a psychiatrist included he functions as an eight-year-old. He also is in special education classes at a Santa Rosa middle school.

His ability to understand the court proceedings is in question, his attorney said.

“Up until this time he has been extremely well behaved,” Long said.

She said she was opposed to him testifying against the three adults accused in the same crime, saying his competency made him an undesirable and unreliable witness.

An adult in his position would likely be placed in a long term rehabilitation facility but options for a 13-year-old were minimal, Long said.

“There is not a lot of mental health stuff going on with kids,” she said.

The boy was expected in court again May 26th at 8:30 a.m.