THREE MEN CONVICTED IN RAPE, STABBING OF WOMAN LEFT FOR DEAD NEAR TEMECULA

FRENCH VALLEY - Three separate juries have convicted three men of the 2005 kidnap and rape of a woman who was stabbed and left for dead in the hills west of Temecula.

On Monday, April 27, 2009, the jury for Francisco Ruis Silva convicted the 38-year-old man of attempted murder, rape, kidnap for rape, sodomy, forced oral copulation, carjacking, assault with a deadly weapon and arson. The jury also found that Silva personally used a knife and stabbed the victim.

Also on Monday, the jury for Oscar Julian Garcia Veloz, 24, found him guilty of the same counts as Silva, but instead of assault with a deadly weapon they found him guilty of misdemeanor assault.

The jury for 19-year-old Benjamin Ruiz DeLara, who was 15 at the time of the crimes and tried as an adult, returned verdicts on Thursday, April 23, 2009. The jury convicted DeLara of rape, kidnap for rape, sodomy, forced oral copulation and misdemeanor assault.

"These three men committed unspeakable acts on a young woman from our community," said Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco. "I am proud of her strength throughout this episode and I am thankful that our community has achieved justice."

The three men kidnapped the then-19-year-old woman in Temecula and Veloz drove her in her car to a secluded area near Nicolas Road in Temecula as the other two men followed in a truck. All three men then took part in the rape, sodomy and forced oral copulation of the victim.

After the attack, the woman's car was set afire and the men drove her in their truck several miles into the De Luz area, west of Temecula. Once in the hills, Silva again raped and sexually assaulted the victim, then stabbed her multiple times in the neck, chest and shoulder. The men drove away, leaving the woman to die. However, the victim was able to climb up a hill and was rescued by a good Samaritan who drove her to a nearby hospital.

The three men face possible life sentences when they return to court on June 12, 2009.

The case, SWF012004, was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Jess Walsh.