A Colorado man has admitted to raping three women in Southern California, including a homeless woman he’d offered a ride to, and two women he met on a dating app.
Charles Edward Gaines III, 32, of Aurora, Colorado, pleaded guilty in Ventura County court Friday on charges that included rape and attempted rape, with a special allegation that one of his victims was a minor.
He had previously been found guilty of forcible sodomy and attempted rape during a February trial, but the jury deadlocked on the additional charges, a spokesperson for the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said. He admitted to the outstanding charges Friday.
Gaines’ crimes spanned from Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The first known attack happened in February 2019 in Northridge, officials said.
Gaines used a fake name on a dating app and picked up his victim to take her to the movies. But instead of taking her to the theater, he took away her phone and demanded she perform sexual acts. When she refused, he violently raped her, officials said.
After the attack, he drove her to a fast food restaurant, gave her back her phone and left her there. The victim called 911 and underwent a sexual assault examination and DNA evidence was collected.
But Gaines did not leave this woman alone. He continued to contact her, sending her messages in which he blamed her for what happened, telling her he wanted to meet up again and then threatening her when she declined.
Months later, in December, Gaines found a homeless woman in Encino, offered her the opportunity to warm up in his car, and then attacked and raped her when she got inside. She was eventually able to get free of him, grabbing his cell phone and running toward a nearby grocery store.
An employee let her in, but Gaines followed, wrestling with her for his cell phone back. He was able to pry his phone back and fled the area.
The following March, Gaines met a 16-year-old girl on a dating app and picked her up from her home in Simi Valley. The two drove a few blocks away and entered the backseat together.
“What started out as consensual quickly turned into Gaines forcing himself on the victim,” the D.A.’s Office said. “As she yelled ‘stop’, Gaines raped her.”
The 16-year-old victim struggled and escaped from the back seat, at which point Gaines returned to the driver’s seat and took off. Shortly after, Gaines texted his victim and threatened to kill her if she told anyone what happened, officials said.
In May 2020, Gaines threatened another woman in Canoga Park whom he’d previous had consensual sex with. When she refused to have sex with him again, he began sending her violent messages, including threatening to send nude pictures of her to her family and friends unless she agreed to have sex with him.
“Gaines also told the victim he was outside her residence and if she didn’t come outside and have sex with him, he would ruin her life,” the D.A.’s Office wrote.
Gaines was eventually brought down by his victims, officials said, after all three of his rape victims underwent sexual assault examinations that helped investigators collect DNA that eventually pointed them in his direction.
The DNA obtained in those examinations were later confirmed to belong to the same suspect, and in August 2022, Gaines was arrested in Colorado for an unrelated crime. His DNA was sampled at the time and uploaded into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), which linked him to the three previous rapes.
Authorities in Southern California arranged to have him arrested in connection with the attacks and extradite him to Ventura County where he has remained in custody since.
Gaines is due in court again on May 6, at which point he is expected to be sentenced to 19 years in prison.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Brent Nibecker, who handles cold case sexual assaults in Ventura County. Nibecker described Gaines as a predator who “targeted women who were vulnerable.”
“What he didn’t count on was their bravery,” Nibecker said. “The courage these women showed by assisting in this investigation and then coming to court and sharing what he did to them was exceptional. Their actions served to protect others from being victimized by Gaines.”
Nibecker’s salary, the D.A.’s Office said, is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice as part of the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, which aims to test all outstanding rape kits for DNA and investigate unsolved sexual assaults.
For more information about the Ventura County Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, click here.
Victims of past sexual assaults can also use the website to find supportive services or get help to find out if their sexual assault kits have been tested.
The case was investigated by the Simi Valley Police Department with assistance from the Los Angeles Police Department and the D.A.’s Office Bureau of Investigation.