An incarcerated felon will stand trial for a rape he allegedly committed six years ago after a judge ruled yesterday that it falls just barely within the statute of limitations.
Charles Henry Bracey, 39, was facing charges of rape, burglary, robbery and attempted sodomy stemming from a 1996 rape that remained unsolved until a DNA database fingered him for the crime. During a preliminary hearing last week to determine if enough evidence exists to continue the case, defense attorney Paul Demeester argued that too much time had lapsed under law.
Visiting Judge William Burleigh considered the matter a week ago and yesterday split his decision for both sides. The robbery and burglary charges were tossed because their statute of limitations is three years. But the rape case will continue because prosecutors were able to formally file charges just inside the six year window. The state has since extended the statute of limitations for rape to 10 years.
Prosecutor Jonathan McDougall hoped that Burleigh would allow the lesser charges to stand because they allegedly occurred as part of the larger assault. But regardless, even a conviction on only the rape charges could keep Bracey incarcerated for life. The third strike carries a mandatory 25 years to life sentence.
The crime in question is the sexual assault of a 31-year-old woman in her San Carlos home. The woman told police that on July 27, 1996 she returned home after a night out drinking. After a cab driver dropped her off, she entered her home and went straight to the bathroom to vomit. At some point a man entered her home and attacked her. She said the man raped her and threatened to sodomize her before she passed out.
She awoke to find a black San Francisco Giants baseball cap left on her bed and $40 missing from her purse. Investigators recovered hair fragments from the hat but shelved the case for lack of leads. They re-opened it about a year ago when the state began its
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