SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Sexual assault and other charges were filed today against a man and woman accused of kidnapping, assaulting and beating a 21-year-old acquaintance before leaving her naked alongside an East County freeway.
Catherine R. McCoy, 47, and Christopher Carrera, 32, were ordered held without bail. Their arraignment was postponed until Aug. 29 at the request of McCoy's attorneys.
Both McCoy and Carrera are charged with penetration by a foreign object with force, kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon and making a criminal threat. They each face 25 years to life in prison if convicted, said Deputy District Attorney George Modlin.
One of McCoy's attorneys, David Shapiro, said the defendants and the alleged victim were acquainted.
"They had known each other long enough to know a little bit about each other and know who each other was," Shapiro said.
The victim was attacked about 7:30 p.m. last Thursday as she walked to a residence near City Heights, said San Diego police Lt. Rudy Tai.
He said two assailants punched and kicked the victim and forced her into a white SUV. As the male suspect drove, the female suspect beat, sexually assaulted and threatened to kill the victim, Tai alleged.
Modlin said the victim was beaten with a flashlight and sexually assaulted with a golf club.
The driver stopped the vehicle near the interchange of state routes 125 and 54 in Spring Valley, where Carrera pulled the victim out of the SUV by her hair and dragged her over an embankment, punched her in the face and kicked her, Tai alleged. The pair then left the victim and drove off, the lieutenant said.
Around 8:30 p.m., a passing motorist saw the victim as she emerged naked from the bushes and called for help. The woman, whose name was withheld, was incoherent and had been beaten severely, Tai said.
