Suspect in overdose deaths of L.A. model and friend now charged with sex assaults of four other women
A Beverly Hills man arrested in connection with the drug overdose deaths of two unconscious women who were dumped at hospitals was charged Friday with sex assaults on four other women.
David Pearce is accused of two counts of forcible rape and one count each of rape of an unconscious or asleep person and sexual penetration by a foreign object, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said.
Pearce allegedly sexually assaulted a woman in 2010, raped another woman in 2019 and raped two more women last year, prosecutors said. Prosecutors didn't immediately provide other details.
Pearce remained jailed on $1 million bail Friday and it wasn't immediately clear whether he had an attorney to speak on his behalf.
"My office takes violence against women very seriously. By aggressively prosecuting sexual assault cases, we make our community safer and protect others from becoming victims in the future," District Attorney Gascón said. "This case is evolving and we continue to work with law enforcement in developing evidence of other possible crimes."
Pearce was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in connection with the deaths last month of model Christy Giles, 24, and her friend, architect Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola, 26.
"It's a small sigh of relief," Giles' husband Jan Cilliers told CBS Los Angeles. "But I know this is not a celebratory point this is just the beginning of the battle."
Two other men were held on suspicion of being accessories to manslaughter but both have been released from jail. It also wasn't immediately clear whether they had attorneys.
No criminal charges have been filed against the three men in connection with the women's deaths.
Giles and Cabrales-Arzola were reportedly last seen attending an East Los Angeles warehouse party. Authorities believe they then went to Pearce's townhouse. Detectives said they believe both women were given drugs and overdosed.
Giles was found dead outside Southern California Hospital in Culver City after masked men in a car with no license plates dropped her there on Nov. 13, police said.
Cabrales-Arzola was left at Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Hospital, where she was removed from life support and died on Nov. 24.
