Irvine man to go on trial on rape and forcible sodomy charges

An Irvine man accused of forcibly sodomizing three women and raping two of them will go on trial Tuesday at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.

Joseph Raymond Garcia, 51, is charged with six felony counts of sodomy by force and two felony counts of forcible rape that occurred between 2005 and 2006, authorities said.

He reportedly used his profile on MillionaireMatch.com between March 2005 and October 2006 to meet two of the women, the Orange County district attorney's office said in a news release. On separate occasions, the women went on a date with Garcia and ended up at his Irvine apartment, where Garcia allegedly forcibly sodomized one woman and raped and sodomized the second.

Garcia's profile on MillionaireMatch.com stated that he had a yearly income of more than $200,000 and was "charming" and "strikingly handsome," according to the release.

The third woman worked at a Post Office, where she met Garcia and he allegedly raped and sodomized her.

Tuesday's trial will be the first time the case will come before a jury, said Farrah Emami, spokeswoman for the district attorney's office.

A woman first reported being raped and forcibly sodomized by Garcia in 2005. The woman reported the alleged incident soon after and submitted to a rape kit, according Emami. A second woman reported Garcia about a month after he allegedly attacked her, and Emami did not know when the third woman reported him to authorities.

The alleged victims have been waiting a long time for the case to go to trial, Emami said.

If convicted, Garcia faces 120 years to life in state prison.