Turlock Police: Serial Rapist Caught In The Act And Arrested
TURLOCK (CBS 13) — Turlock Police said they tracked down and arrested a man accused of assaulting multiple women in Turlock and other areas.
Thirty-seven-year-old Joseph Frank Pineda Pimental was taken to the Stanislaus County Jail on September 2.
Police said at least two of his attacks involved homeless women and there could be more. Detectives said it was DNA evidence from the most recent known rape that narrowed down their suspect.
On June 15, Pineda Pimentel allegedly picked up a homeless woman as she was walking on Geer Road in Turlock. Instead of taking her where she wanted to go, they said he drove her behind a closed business and he raped her. That rape provided the DNA evidence that would lead to his arrest.
"He did this to multiple other people...like it isn't just me. This is crazy," said an accuser, who spoke with CBS13 on condition of anonymity.
Police said DNA evidence gathered from the June 15 assault links Pineda Pimentel to other unsolved sexual assaults in two other counties. The accuser who spoke with CBS13 said she met up with Pineda Pimentel last year and things turned violent after she got into his car.
"He forced me to get in the back and then forced himself on me and I tried opening the sliding door because he had a van and it was locked like...child-locked, she said.
She managed to get away, and the trauma resurfaced after seeing his mugshot circulate on social media.
Police said on the day Pineda Pimentel was arrested he had just picked up a homeless female, offering her a ride and something to eat. He was charged with rape by force or fear.
The accuser CBS13 spoke with said she never thought he would get caught.
"I'm hoping that with everyone coming out and saying stuff now that they feel comfortable saying what happened to them. I'm hoping that they just lock him up and keep him locked up," she said.
Turlock police said the suspect's original DNA record was from the military in 2009 where he had been arrested and charged with rape. However, that case was ultimately dismissed.