Trial of Teen Accused of Rape Set for April
The trial of a Newbury Park teenager accused of raping a college student at knifepoint will begin April 13, a judge ruled Thursday.
The trial is expected to last eight to 10 weeks, attorneys said at Chad Schmidt’s arraignment.
Schmidt, 18, is accused of raping a college student in the restroom of his former high school and attacking four other people in 1996.
He is facing 23 criminal charges, including sexual assault, battery, prowling and rape. He is also faces charges of indecent exposure in connection with an incident involving three female inmates at the Ventura County Jail late last year.
Although he was 17 at the time of the attacks, Schmidt was ordered to be tried as an adult because of the seriousness of the crimes.
Schmidt was arrested last year after a sheriff’s deputy identified him from a composite sketch while answering a domestic-disturbance call.
One of the victims later identified Schmidt in a photo lineup as her attacker by his “strikingly blue eyes,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Lisa Frawley said.
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