TORRANCE (AP) ―
A mechanic has been charged in Torrance with raping a customer who brought her car into a Jiffy Lube for inspection.
Johnny Maciel pleaded not guilty Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court to raping a 20-year-old woman.
The 22-year-old mechanic was placed behind bars on $175,000 bail.
The woman had taken her car to be inspected at the Jiffy Lube at 190th Street and Crenshaw Boulevard when Maciel asked her to accompany him to his office. He then allegedly locked the door and sexually assaulted her last Thursday.
The woman had left her two children, an adult friend and the friend's child in the car, authorities said.
Maciel was arrested at 7 p.m. last Thursday by Torrance police, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Inmate Information Center web site.
Maciel is due back in Torrance Superior Court on March 16, at which point a hearing will be scheduled to determine if there is enough evidence to require him to stand trial.
Maciel, who has a prior strike on his record, faces up to 16 years in state prison if convicted, according to the District Attorney's Office.
A mechanic has been charged in Torrance with raping a customer who brought her car into a Jiffy Lube for inspection.
Johnny Maciel pleaded not guilty Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court to raping a 20-year-old woman.
The 22-year-old mechanic was placed behind bars on $175,000 bail.
The woman had taken her car to be inspected at the Jiffy Lube at 190th Street and Crenshaw Boulevard when Maciel asked her to accompany him to his office. He then allegedly locked the door and sexually assaulted her last Thursday.
The woman had left her two children, an adult friend and the friend's child in the car, authorities said.
Maciel was arrested at 7 p.m. last Thursday by Torrance police, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Inmate Information Center web site.
Maciel is due back in Torrance Superior Court on March 16, at which point a hearing will be scheduled to determine if there is enough evidence to require him to stand trial.
Maciel, who has a prior strike on his record, faces up to 16 years in state prison if convicted, according to the District Attorney's Office.
