May 23, 2019
A man accused of kidnapping a 74-year-old woman off an Excelsior neighborhood street in broad daylight before repeatedly raping her and leaving her semi-conscious on the sidewalk pleaded not guilty Thursday in San Francisco Superior Court.
Manuel Jesus Amador, 47, wore orange jail garb and his hands were cuffed behind his back during a brief arraignment, where he addressed the judge through an interpreter and waived his right to a preliminary hearing before being escorted back to jail.
The victim remains in the hospital with serious injuries. [...]
Amador admitted to raping the woman after being advised of his rights, prosecutors said.
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[Defense Attorney Tal] Klement emphasized that his client has no criminal record and has lived in San Francisco for more than 20 years.
Max Szabo, a spokesman for the San Francisco district attorney’s office, said that Amador should not be offered bail regardless of whether he had committed any previous crimes.
“Sex offenses are generally crimes in which offenders tend to be repeat offenders in nature, but it’s not to say that he has any criminal history,” he said. “The nature of sex offenses is such that we want to err on the side of public safety and to protect the victim in this case as well.”
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The brutal crime has alarmed senior residents of the neighborhood, who are still reeling from January’s attack on an 88-year-old grandmother near a Visitacion Valley Playground.
“These things happen when the seniors think they’re doing their daily exercise,” said Marlene Tran, a public safety advocate and community member who attended Amador’s hearing. “Now we have two grandmothers in the hospital and another gory case of someone being cut up. It’s very scary.”
San Francisco police and the FBI are investigating dismembered human remains discovered Monday at a home on the 100 block of Del Monte Street, one day after 73-year-old Benedict Ching was reported missing earlier this week.
Amador, who is scheduled to return to court June 12, is charged with rape and kidnapping with a special enhancement for elder abuse. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.