A 42-year-old man was charged Wednesday with forcible rape and other counts for an alleged early morning attack Monday on a woman in the bedroom of her Santa Monica apartment.
Dylan James Jensen pleaded not guilty to two counts each of forcible rape and sexual battery and one count each of first-degree burglary with a person present, sodomy by use of force and forcible oral copulation, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The charges include allegations that Jensen personally used a knife during the crimes and that the offenses were committed during a first-degree burglary, Santiago said.
Jensen allegedly entered the woman’s apartment in the 2900 block of Fourth Street at about 6 a.m. Monday through a sliding glass door of an elevated patio, according to Santa Monica Police Lt. Saul Rodriguez.
“The suspect retrieved a knife from the kitchen and proceeded to the victim’s bedroom while she was sleeping in her bed,” Rodriguez said. “The victim was awoken by the suspect. The suspect forced himself on the victim and sexually assaulted her. The suspect then fled the location.”
The woman, who is in her 60s, immediately called 911 and officers located Jensen near Third Street and Ashland Avenue, Rodriguez said.
The victim identified Jensen as her attacker, the lieutenant said.
Jensen was born in Hawthorne, might have been homeless at the time of the attack and was on probation for a narcotics conviction, according to Rodriguez.
Jensen has remained behind bars since his arrest.
He is due back at the Airport Branch Courthouse July 11, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to allow the case against him to proceed to trial.