SAN DIEGO — A man who allegedly held a woman captive, raped her, and demanded she help him dismember a dead body in a South Bay residence pleaded not guilty today to forcible rape and kidnapping charges.
Rafael Reyes Banda, 44, is accused of abducting a 43-year-old woman last week and keeping her confined to a Citrus Avenue home for about a day until she was able to flee.
Banda is not charged in connection with the death of another woman whose body was found inside the home. That woman's cause of death, identity, or relationship, if any, to Banda has not been disclosed.
Banda was also arraigned Tuesday in a separate case out of East County, in which he's charged with assaulting another woman. A criminal complaint alleges he assaulted a victim on Oct. 29, 2022, but further details on that case were not available.
Prosecutors allege Banda and the alleged rape victim had known each for about a week prior to the alleged abduction.
Last week, Deputy District Attorney Joshua Brisbane alleged Banda accused the woman of stealing money from him, threatened her with what appeared to be a firearm and struck her.
At some point, Banda allegedly showed her a dead woman's body and "ordered her to assist in dismembering this deceased female,'' but Brisbane said the woman was "unable to do so.''
Later, Banda allegedly made a series of demands, including that the woman sit on his lap, make him breakfast and shower with him. He also demanded
sex, which Brisbane said the woman acquiesced to because she feared for her life.
When Banda passed out after using drugs, the prosecutor said the woman
was able to escape the home.
According to SDPD Lt. Jud Campbell, the woman flagged down a passing
driver at around noon Wednesday and reported her abduction. Banda was arrested at the Citrus Avenue home, where officers discovered the dead woman's body.
Banda remains in custody without bail.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation released records showing Banda is a two-striker ex con, who was released from parole in October 2022 after serving prison time for two assault convictions.
WATCH: Woman escapes captivity in South Bay home, police find dead body inside: