Joseph Courtney
A Pacifica man accused of committing sex crimes against drugged men appeared in court Friday, just as police announced another five potential victims, including one minor, have come forward in the last week.
The District Attorney’s Office alleges Joseph Paul Courtney did not act alone and it’s believed there are multiple outstanding suspects who participated in sodomizing and videotaping three unconscious male victims.
Courtney, 31, was assigned an attorney through the private defender program Friday and is scheduled to return to court Aug. 11 to enter a plea, according to prosecutors. He remains in custody on $5 million bail.
Defense attorney Steve Chase said he does not believe the charges reflect his client’s behavior and noted Courtney and the complaining witnesses had socialized.
The Pacifica resident has been charged with 15 felonies including sodomy by force, sodomy of a drugged victim, oral copulation by force, possession of child pornography and robbery. He faces life in prison if convicted, according to prosecutors.
The charges relate to three incidents involving separate male victims whom Courtney allegedly met on May 12, 2015, Sept. 21, 2015, and Nov. 20, 2015, at his home and once at a Comfort Suites Motel, according to prosecutors.
In each of the crimes, Courtney arranged to have consensual sex with the victims but instead drugged them using GHB, commonly referred to as the “date rape drug.” Courtney and other men allegedly raped the unconscious victims, according to prosecutors. On one occasion, he showed the victim the video recording of the rape by multiple men, according to prosecutors.
He is also charged with one felony for possessing child pornography Dec. 14, 2015, according to prosecutors.
Police said Courtney had an extensive history of criminal sexual behavior and often used websites and smartphone apps to contact his victims.
Defense attorney Chase said he’s in the process of reviewing the case and that “Mr. Courtney is a lovely young man. He’s bright, he’s personable and I’m going to vigorously fight for him against these charges. … He is not the monster that any [district attorney] press release might make him out to be.”
Pacifica police announced Courtney’s arrest July 28 and Capt. Joe Spanheimer said another five victims, including one who was a minor during an alleged incident, have come forward in the last week.
“Since the initial press release we issued, several other victims have come forward,” Spanheimer said. “We’re fully committed to finding any and all victims that we can, as well as suspects … and we encourage any victim to come forward.”
Due to the ongoing investigation, Spanheimer said he could not comment on the possible identities or status of the investigation into potential accomplices.
Assistant District Attorney Al Serrato said prosecutors would consider the ongoing information being gathered by police and it’s not uncommon for additional charges to be filed as more evidence is presented. Based on the videos obtained of the alleged crimes, it appears multiple accomplices were involved, Serrato said.
Serrato added the alleged accomplices could also be considered culpable for the same crimes.
“If we can identify them, I have no doubt that we could charge them with aiding and abetting,” Serrato said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Pacifica police at (650) 738-7314 or the tip line at (650) 359-4444.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Join us for community fun at the San Mateo Senior Showcase at the San Mateo Senior Center lo… Read moreSan Mateo Senior Showcase
Our Lady of Angels school presents Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr! Read moreOur Lady of Angels School Presents Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Join us for an evening of piano artistry with Sofya Gulyak 🎹, presented by Gradus ad Parnas… Read moreSofya Gulyak piano recital
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.