A 20-year-old South Los Angeles man accused of sexually assaulting a mentally disabled woman for 10 minutes on a Metro bus last week was charged Wednesday with rape.
Kerry Trotter pleaded not guilty in an afternoon arraignment hearing to multiple charges in connection with the rape of an 18-year-old woman aboard a bus in Culver City.
The woman, who was reported to have the mental capacity of a 10 year old, was too terrified to cry out during the assault, according to investigators with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Trotter was charged with one count of forcible rape, one count of rape of an incompetent person and two counts of sexual penetration with a foreign object, according to the District Attorney's Office.
At an arraignment hearing at the Los Angeles Superior Court's Airport Courthouse, Trotter did not enter the courtroom, and his alternate public defender spoke to him in a holding cell next that opened into the hearing room,as shown below. Trotter could be heard from the cell verbally agreeing to a preliminary hearing setting on Wednesday, Nov. 21 -- his next court date.
He was arrested last Friday morning on West 99th Street in South LA after detectives released video stills of the rapist, pictured at right below. Authorities said the suspect boarded the Metro bus at the same time as the victim on Nov. 7.
Trotter, who authorities said had a long criminal record and previous allegations of sexual assault, is currently on probation for grand theft, the District Attorney's Office said.
He allegedly rode buses looking for victims, sheriff's department officials told the Los Angeles Times.
If convicted, Trotter faces more than 20 years in state prison. His bail was set at $285,000.
