A 36-year-old marine sergeant accused of sexually assaulting three women in Temecula was charged Wednesday with multiple counts of rape and other felonies.
Mark Richard Neeley of Temecula was arrested Friday following a Riverside County sheriff's investigation at a townhome complex in the 44000 block of Bellflower Lane.
Along with four counts of forcible rape, Neeley is charged with one count each of sodomy of a victim under duress, false imprisonment, possession of an assault rifle, carrying a firearm without a license and sentence-enhancing allegations of targeting multiple victims in sex crimes.
Neeley's mother told NBCLA that he is a gunnery sergeant based at Camp Pendleton. Investigators said that they have notified the Marine Corps about the arrest.
The defendant, who is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta, made his initial court appearance Wednesday afternoon at the Southwest Justice Center.
He did not enter a plea, and arraignment has been postponed until Friday.
According to sheriff's officials, a woman identified in court documents only as "L.C." called 911 in the predawn hours Friday, reporting that she had been sexually assaulted in her townhouse.
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Detectives spoke with the woman and gathered evidence at the scene, and Neeley was located in a nearby residence and taken into custody without a struggle, according to the sheriff's department.
Neeley was arrested at his home in Temecula over the weekend, where neighbors say Riverside County Sheriff's investigators broke through his front door as they served a search warrant.
During a search of his property, additional evidence was seized that indicated Neeley was allegedly involved in other assaults on women, according to investigators.
Two other victims were identified, one allegedly sexually assaulted on July 5, 2017, and another on Feb. 12, 2018, both in the same area, according to court papers.
Investigators did not disclose whether Neeley was acquainted with all three women, or whether there was any connection to the victims at all. However, Riverside County Sheriff's investigators believe there may be more victims.
He has no prior documented felony convictions in Riverside County.
