Rape suspect faces life in prison

Marcos Maldonado pleads not guilty in attack on 12-year-old Culver City girl.

A 35-year-old Kern County resident accused of breaking into a Culver City home last month and raping a 12-year-old girl could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón said Tuesday.

Marcos Maldonado was charged with two counts of forcible rape of a child, two counts of sexual penetration of a child and one count of sodomy in connection with the Dec. 2 attack, according to a criminal complaint.

He pleaded not guilty and is due back in court next month.

Culver City Police Chief Jason Sims said that the attack was random and that Maldonado slipped in through an unlocked sliding door. He entered a bedroom where the young victim was sleeping and assaulted her for several hours before leaving the home at 7 a.m., Gascón said.

Before he left, Maldonado told the victim “his friend was outside with a gun and he would kill her family if she told anyone what happened,” Sims said.

Authorities said Maldonado was arrested this month when he was taken off a Bakersfield-bound bus on the 5 Freeway.

It was not immediately clear who his defense attorney is. He is being held in lieu of $1.8-million bail, and Gascón said prosecutors are expected to ask a judge to order Maldonado to be detained without bail ahead of his next court hearing.

Authorities are looking for additional victims who Maldonado may have assaulted, but had no information on other attacks as of Tuesday.

Gascón also announced charges Tuesday against Martin Lopez, 55, a Long Beach resident who allegedly impersonated a police officer and assaulted a woman late last month. Lopez is charged with attempted kidnapping, sexual battery and robbery, records show.