A firefighter-paramedic with CAL FIRE has been accused of committing sexual assaults against three women while on duty, including a harrowing incident purportedly occurring in a shed located behind his fire station.
David Renteria III, aged 51, made an appearance at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta on Wednesday. Wearing a yellow jail-issued jumpsuit, Renteria occasionally attempted to avoid the cameras positioned outside the courtroom, as reported by KTLA.
Renteria is confronted with numerous felony charges, which include kidnapping with the intent to commit a sexual offense and several counts of rape, accompanied by special allegations, according to Riverside County prosecutors.
Authorities allege that Renteria targeted and sexually assaulted three different women. His arrest at his residence in Placentia took place last month, following an investigation that commenced in January.
An attorney representing one of the victims stated that Renteria initially connected with the woman online and subsequently enticed her to CAL FIRE Station 96 in Temecula while he was on duty in November.
The victim alleges that Renteria guided her to a shed behind the station, where she was held against her will and raped multiple times.
When she pleaded to go home to her children, Renteria allegedly threatened to hurt them if she refused his demands, her attorney said.
She eventually managed to escape and alert authorities about the alleged assault.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Sarah Crowley revealed prosecutors also accuse Renteria of tying up and restraining one of the victims during an assault.
“An additional allegation as to one of the victims [is] that he tied and bound that victim in the course of raping her,” Crowley said in court.
Renteria’s arraignment was postponed until June because his private attorney was unavailable Wednesday.
Prosecutors said the charges could carry a life sentence under California’s “One Strike” sentencing law.
“Under California’s one strike sentencing law, because of these allegations under these specific charges, he would be facing life in prison,” Crowley said.
The investigation into the case is ongoing.
