A San Diego man pleaded guilty Thursday to three felony sexual assault counts stemming from allegations that he raped three women, some of whom were unconscious during the acts.
Juan Carlos Cordero, 37, is slated to be sentenced Nov. 4 for charges related to raping women he met on dating sites or in person between 2015 and 2019.
Cordero, a six-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, pleaded guilty Thursday to penetration of an unconscious victim by a foreign object, forcible sodomy and sodomy of an unconscious victim, with each count corresponding to women identified only as Jane Does 1 through 3.
Some of the victims alleged they may have been drugged by the defendant, though Cordero's defense attorneys denied that claim, saying no date rape drugs had been discovered in the women's toxicology exams.
During a preliminary hearing last year, several women testified that while with Cordero, they blacked out and woke up in his bed, with little to no recollection of the previous night. Many testified that they discovered they'd suffered injuries that led them to believe they had been sexually assaulted.
Some women testified they felt drugged the following morning but had no memory of how that may have occurred, while others testified that Cordero forced alcohol or drugs on them. Some of the victims also testified that Cordero committed violent, unwanted acts during sex, such as choking or hitting them.
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In addition to the three victims Cordero was charged with raping, testimony also came from several other women alleging he committed similar acts on them, as state law allows testimony from purported victims of defendants charged with sexual offenses in order to establish a propensity for sexual misconduct.
Cordero was arrested in March 2019. Following his arrest and the District Attorney's Office filing of felony charges, San Diego police put a call out for any potential victims, identifying Cordero as a 6-foot-tall, roughly 185-pound man with facial stubble and collar-length brown hair. Police said he had been known to identify himself as "J.C.'' to young women.
