A man accused of sexually assaulting five females while they were sleeping or hiking in Ventura County, California, is facing a possible life sentence after his conviction on May 2.
A jury found Edgar Rodriguez Ruelas, 42, of Woodland Hills guilty of five felony counts related to the assaults that occurred between June 2017 and March 2020, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
Jurors also found him guilty of three aggravating factors, including an allegation that Mr. Ruelas represented a serious danger to society.
“Ruelas represents one of the more dangerous sexual offenders apprehended in Ventura County in recent history,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Brent Nibecker, who was assigned to the case, said in a press release May 8.
“I am indebted to the brave victims in this case who not only resisted Ruelas when he attacked but had the courage to testify in court and ensure he can never target women again.”
According to the district attorney’s office, Mr. Ruelas assaulted a 25-year-old woman after entering her Thousand Oaks apartment through an unlocked door on June 15, 2017.
The woman woke up in the early morning hours after hearing Mr. Ruelas open her bedroom door. He tried to force her onto her bed, but she fought back and was able to yell for her roommate. Mr. Ruelas fled the apartment after a brief struggle, according to the district attorney’s office.
During the second crime, on July 14, 2017, Mr. Ruelas assaulted another woman who was hiking alone at about 5:45 a.m. in Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks. Wearing black clothing and a face covering, he reportedly stalked the woman through the park before jumping out from behind bushes.
Mr. Ruelas then reportedly took the woman to the ground, straddled her, and groped her.
The victim told him she had already called the police and her husband, which apparently caused Mr. Ruelas to flee.
Surveillance video captured an image of a vehicle owned by Mr. Ruelas speeding away from the trailhead and through the surrounding neighborhood. The vehicle would later be found at Mr. Ruelas’s Woodland Hills apartment complex, according to the report.
Then, on Oct. 25, 2017, Mr. Ruelas entered a Thousand Oaks apartment through an open door while his third victim and her boyfriend were sleeping, the district attorney’s office reported.
The woman awoke to find Mr. Ruelas standing over her. He reportedly placed one hand over the woman’s mouth and sexually assaulted her with his other hand. When his hand moved from her mouth, the woman was able to call out to her boyfriend. The boyfriend chased after Mr. Ruelas and struggled with him, but Mr. Ruelas broke free and fled.
The next assault happened at about 5:40 a.m. April 12, 2019, on a hiking trail in Oak Park, a 100-acre open space park in Simi Valley, according to the report. Mr. Ruelas, wearing all black and a ski mask, reportedly emerged from bushes along the trail and tackled a woman to the ground, grabbing at her clothing as she fought back.
The woman screamed for help as she struggled with Mr. Ruelas, and told him that others knew her location. Mr. Ruelas then fled. The victim returned to the trailhead where she found someone walking their dog and called police.
The fifth and final attack involved a 16-year-old girl at the same park on the afternoon of March 5, 2020. Mr. Ruelas was again hiding in bushes and dressed in black, wearing a mask and gloves.
According to the report, Mr. Ruelas pushed the victim to the ground and used his hand to cover her mouth. The girl screamed for help and struck Mr. Ruelas with a ukulele she was carrying.
She escaped down the trail until she found a neighbor who helped her call family and the police.
Ventura County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene and recovered surveillance video from the neighborhood, showing the victim walking into the open space trails.
Less than a minute later, the video showed a vehicle resembling the one owned by Mr. Ruelas parked nearby. The driver exited the vehicle and headed to the trail. About 20 minutes later, the video showed the driver running back to his car and driving away.
Detectives with the sheriff’s office were able to identify the license plate on the car after they determined that a patrol vehicle with a license plate reader had passed through the area near the time of the attack.
This provided law enforcement with Mr. Ruelas’s license plate information, which led to his arrest.
Detectives used DNA to link Mr. Ruelas to most of the attacks, except the one in Wildwood Regional Park.
Mr. Ruelas will be sentenced June 5 in Ventura County Superior Court. He faces a maximum sentence of 32 years to life, plus 21 years because of enhancements approved by the jury.
