Kerry Trotter was charged with forcible rape, rape of an incompetent person, and two counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object. If convicted, he faces more than 20 years in state prison.
Trotter allegedly raped a mentally disabled 18-year-old woman on a Metro bus.
Trotter was arraigned Wednesday. His public defender entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf. Trotter was held on $285,000 bond. Trotter is currently on probation for grand theft, according to the L.A. County District Attorney's Office.
Trotter was arrested Friday after surveillance pictures from the incident taken on the bus were released to the public.
The sexual assault happened at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Metro Bus stop on La Cienega and Jefferson boulevards. Sheriff's detectives say the victim boarded the No. 217 bus and a male passenger followed her to the back.
"She sat down, he sat down near her, got up almost immediately and proceeded to attack her," said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Detective Dan Scott.
Investigators say cameras onboard the bus captured the suspect raping the woman as she suffered in silence during a 10-minute trip to Slauson Avenue and Sepulveda Boulevard. The woman is said to have the mental capacity of 10-year-old.
"The victim did not scream, the victim told our detective that she was shocked, she didn't know what to do and she was in fear for her safety and for her life," said Scott.
According to the surveillance video, there were four other passengers on board. One seemed to try to get the attention of the driver, but the driver was unable to see what was happening. Investigators say there's no suspicion that the driver did anything wrong.
"This individual was blocking the view of the victim, and based on people that have analyzed this -- my detective -- she feels it's reasonable that there might have been suspicion but not enough to think there was a sexual assault," said Scott.
Trotter has a history of arrests for sexual assaults, but no convictions. It is not known yet whether there's any pattern of seeking out individuals who are disabled.
In this case, sheriff's authorities suspect the assault was a crime of opportunity.
