(Woodland, CA) – January 27, 2023 On January 26, 2023, Yolo County Superior Court Judge Dave Rosenberg sentenced 23-year-old David Padilla-Chicas to three years in state prison for forcible rape. Padilla-Chicas, a resident of San Pablo, CA, was found guilty of the crime by a Yolo County jury on December 27, 2022. The jury found Padilla-Chicas not guilty on three other related charges.
The jury heard evidence that in early April of 2019 the victim, a 19-year-old bay area woman, attended a party at an apartment on the UC Davis campus with more than forty people. Padilla-Chicas, who was not a student, nor affiliated with the university, also attended. After becoming intoxicated, the victim went to the restroom. Padilla-Chicas followed, offering to help her. Inside the restroom, Padilla-Chicas forcibly raped the victim on the floor and told her to pretend to be throwing up as he exited the restroom.
Witnesses found the victim in distress on the floor of the restroom, where she immediately reported the rape. Padilla-Chicas vehemently denied any sexual contact with the victim when he was subsequently contacted by law enforcement. However, DNA evidence revealed the presence of Padilla-Chicas’ semen and DNA on several parts of the victim’s body.
At trial, Padilla-Chicas changed his story and testified that it had been consensual intercourse. The jury rejected Padilla-Chicas’ story and convicted him of forcible rape after four and a half hours of deliberating.
Stephanie Allen, one of the prosecutors on the case, stated, “The victim was so courageous. With all the trauma she suffered, I know it was so affirming for her when the jury, after thoughtfully listening to all the evidence, came back with a guilty verdict.”
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