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LA County declines prosecuting Paul Flores for rape

January 8, 2023

Deputy arresting Paul Flores

By KAREN VELIE

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office recently decided not to prosecute Paul Flores for several alleged rapes that were discovered during the investigation into the murder of Kristin Smart.

Flores, now 46, murdered Smart during an attempted rape in 1996 following a Cal Poly frat party. A jury convicted Flores of Smart’s murder in Nov. 2022.

During a 2020 raid of Flores’ San Pedro home, deputies found two bottles of date rape drugs, bondage tools and multiple rape and child porn videos. In a file of videos labeled “practice,” Flores stored homemade rape videos of himself having sex and sodomizing women.

Los Angeles Police Department investigators tracked down two women from the tapes who said Flores drugged and then raped them, according to LA Police Department Capt. Jonathan Tippet

During Flores preliminary hearing, the SLO County District Attorney’s Office sought to add two charges of rape of an intoxicated person. The charges involved the two Los Angeles County alleged rape victims.

In 2021, SLO County Judge Craig van Rooyen refused to allow prosecutors to add the two Los Angeles rape charges.

Judge van Rooyen said there was no evidence of a rape in the Kristin Smart case. Without that, prosecutors could not add the rape cases. They could not use a stronger case to support a weaker case, van Rooyen said.

After the case was moved to Monterey County, Judge Jennifer O’Keefe ruled three alleged rape victims would be allowed to testify at trial because of similarities to the Smart case. Prosecutors did not disclose if the women were related to previous rape allegations or those investigators discovered following the 2020 raid of Flores’ home.

Kristin Smart

Prior to the disappearance of Smart, the Arroyo Grande Police Department had the opportunity to arrest Flores for rape, according to allegations in a Daily Beast investigative piece on Flores’ life.

The alleged rape victim in the Daily Beast article, a 39-year-old woman whom the Daily Beast referred to as Jane, says she was roofied, raped and dumped outside her home by Flores, with the help of his friends. The incident allegedly occurred in 1994, when she was a 15-year-old high school student living in Arroyo Grande.

The Daily Beast also interviewed two other women who claim Flores sexually assaulted them, though he did not rape them.

One of the alleged victims, who is referred to as Sarah, said Flores would follow her around and crash parties wherever she was. During a 1995 Halloween party, Flores allegedly grabbed Sarah’s crotch on the dance floor, she said.

In a subsequent incident, Sarah went to the bathroom at a friend’s birthday party and tried to lock the door. But, Flores allegedly crashed the door open and threatened to rape her.

In 2013, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office reviewed a rape allegation against Paul Flores stemming from an incident in Redondo Beach. The district attorney decided not to file charges noting a lack of evidence.

Many of Flores’ victims have either claimed they blacked out and do not remember what happened or that they do not want to testify.

In December, the court delayed Flores sentencing until March. His attorney Robert Sanger said he needed the sentencing delay to have time to file a motion for a mistrial.

Flores is currently housed in the San Luis Obispo County jail.


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Flores conviction could be overturned due to a technicality. L.A. convictions would keep him in jail. If L.A. is not going to prosecute they should say why,


1

Easy-on-crime DA’s and politicos in Sacramento are eager to exhibit their compassion and superior virtue by promoting “progressive” Criminal Justice Reform while actively working to erode Victim Justice. Before they mark and drop their ballots in the ballot box, women voters should think critically about cases involving incorrigible, depraved, unsalvageable monsters like Paul Flores and the scoundrel d-bag politicians, Sheriffs, Judges and DA’s who protect such sociopaths/psychopaths as they virtue signal their compassion and reform-minded brilliance. Never vote d.


9

SLO’s far right DA has also been easy on sex crimes when it suites his grandstanding politics, and that has nothing to do with “voting for d”:


“A former Paso Robles police officer will not face criminal charges despite evidence of ‘forcible sex acts’ with a woman, San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow announced at a news conference Thursday.”


Does that outrage you too, or do you give him a free pass because of his political party?


And don’t forget this headline from another CCN article:

“Dan Dow mishap at sexual assault trial results in dismissal of entire jury panel”


0

Never vote d? Well let’s see what voting r gets you:

* Child sex trafficers like Matt Gaetz

* Male congressional page molesters like Mark Foley

* Bathroom sex solicitors like Larry Craig

* And lets not forget our recent sexual assaultist in chief who had multiple accusations of sexual assault, slept with porn stars, and famously quipped women should be “grabbed by the p****”

You really trust the list of clowns above to seek justice for sex assault victims? I don’t think either political party has the moral high ground here. Vote for the best person for the job, not just whoever has a D or R next to their name.


1

“Never vote d.”


So you support reducing social security, Medicare and increasing the deficit?

Your social security, Medicare…….


-1

DA’s are political animals. Until the body politic of California is done voting for progressive types, nothing will change.


“People get the government they deserve.”


8

There is a continued disregard for rape victims. All across this state. And even just 2 years ago, a rape victim here in SLO had DNA evidence, and STILL treated with disregard! Actually the Sheriff department took her only security tool from her that night too, her phone!! complete disbelief she was treated so horribly by the Sheriff, despite her going through a full forensic inspection, displaying the proof. She did get a small quilt out of it for comfort! But NOTHING was done. NOTHING came of any of it!! So until the misogynistic disregard for the crime of Rape changes. I am NOT surprised in the least bit, they are letting him get away with it!


7

Agreed. Sexual assaults of any severity should lead to far harsher consequences in my opinion.


1

How is this ok? What about justice for the victims? Do their lives not matter and what message does this send?

Where are the human/ victim rights activists?How about Hollywood celebrities screaming for women’s rights ? This is not ok and WE should ALL be screaming for justice for the victims. We have a serial rapist with overwhelming evidence of wrong doing flipping the finger at us. The LA DA is disgusting lazy POS if he continues to allow these types of criminals to skate.

Flores should never be allowed to hurt another person and the LA DA can assure us that Flores will never see daylight again with this case.

Write letters, scream at the LA DA office and demand this case be heard – for the victims.


32

See our system of justice says there aren’t any victims of Paul Flores until he is proven guilty…. obviously LA doesn’t think they have enough evidence to convict…


-8

So bottles of date-rape drugs, nasty videos, and previous woman telling of attacks and rapes, is no evidence? Ya, He’s just a Great guy wrongly accused? The who authorities are complacent, should also be held responsible. Basically giving him the go ahead to offend.


8

Flores just got convicted of murder. He’s not going anywhere and will likely rotting in jail for the rest of his life. So you want to retramatize the victims he assaulted by having them publicly testify and re-live the horrors of what this monster put them through, when it won’t change what happens to him now one bit?


If anyone dropped the ball, it was the SLO DA in 1994, Barry LaBarbera, who could have prosecuted Flores for that first rape and maybe Kristen Smart would still be alive today.


6

Might we finally put an end to publishing that poor girl’s photo and let her rest in peace? Her constant image used for this reason or that reminds me of Marilyn Monroe. But, at least Marilyn had a semblance of a life.


RIP Ms. Smart. Rot in hell, Mr. Flores. Better keep your head down in prison. Doubt you last too long.


11