Edgar Rodriguez Ruelas convicted of serial sexual assaults in Thousand Oaks and Oak Park areas
VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. – Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced Wednesday that Edgar Rodriguez Ruelas was convicted of five felony counts related to assaults on women in their homes and on hiking trails in Thousand Oaks and Oak Park.
Ruelas was found guilty of the following counts by a Ventura County jury on May 2, 2024, and on May 7, 2024, a Ventura County jury found true the special allegations listed below.
Felony Convictions:
- PC 220(a)(2)-Assault with Intent to Commit a Forcible Sex Crime on a Person Under 18
- PC 220 (Two Counts)-Assault with Intent to Commit a Forcible Sex Crime
- PC 289(a)(1)-Forcible Sexual Penetration by a Foreign Object
- PC 220(b)-Assault with Intent to Commit a Forcible Sex Crime During a Residential Burglary
Special Allegations:
- PC 667.61(d)(4)-Commit Offense During a Residential Burglary with Intent to Commit a Forcible Sex Crime
- CRC 4.421(a)(3)-Victim was Vulnerable
- CRC 4.421(a)(8)-The Manner in which the Crime was Carried Out Indicates Planning, Sophistication, or Professionalism
- CRC 4.421(b)(1)-Defendant has Engaged in Violent Conduct
"Ruelas represents one of the more dangerous sexual offenders apprehended in Ventura County in recent history," stated Senior Deputy District Attorney Brent Nibecker, who prosecuted the case. "I am indebted to the brave victims in this case who not only resisted Ruelas when he attacked but had the courage to testify in court and ensure he can never target women again."
Between June of 2017 and March of 2020, Ruelas attacked five different women.
The first charged offense happened on Jun. 15, 2017, when Ruelas assaulted a 25-year-old woman after entering her Thousand Oaks apartment using an unlocked door detailed the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
The woman woke up after hearing Ruelas entering her bedroom door in the early morning and was able to successfully fight back against Ruelas when he tried to force her onto her bed explain the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
After shouting for her roommate and a brief struggle, Ruelas fled the scene stated the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
On Jul. 14, 2017, Ruelas assaulted a woman who was hiking alone in Wildwood Regional Park around 5:45 a.m.
According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, Ruelas stalked the woman through the park while wearing all black and a face covering.
Ruelas ambushed the woman from behind bushes, took her to the ground, and groped her detailed the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
After the woman told Ruelas she had called police and her husband, surveillance video captured him fleeing the area in a vehicle he owned and would later be found at his Woodland Hills apartment.
On Oct. 25, 2017, Ruelas entered the open door of a Thousand Oaks apartment while the couple inside slept stated the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
The woman in that apartment awoke to find Ruelas standing over her with one hand covering her mouth and using his other hand to sexually assault her detailed the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
When Ruelas' hand over the survivor's mouth shifted, she was able to call out to her boyfriend who woke up, chased Ruelas, and struggled with him before Ruelas was able to break free and flee the area explained the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
On Apr. 12, 2019, around 5:40 p.m., Ruelas emerged from bushes alongside a hiking trail in Oak Park while wearing all black and a ski mask, tackled a woman to the ground, and grabbed at her clothing while they struggled detailed the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, the woman told Ruelas that others knew her location, causing him to flee the area and allowing her to return to the trailhead where she found a dogwalker who called 911.
The fifth and final charged assault occurred on the afternoon of Mar. 5, 2020.
Ruelas emerged from bushes alongside a hiking trail around Oak Park wearing a black outfit, a mask, and gloves and pinned a 16-year-old girl to the ground while covering her mouth relayed the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, the 16-year-old used a ukulele she was carrying to hit Ruelas and escape the scene.
The 16-year-old found a neighbor further down the trail who helped her call 911 and her family stated the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
Responding deputies with the Ventura County Sheriff's Office recovered surveillance video that showed the sexual assault survivor walking into the open space trails and 30 seconds later, the driver of a vehicle that matched the description of the one owned by Ruelas exit the vehicle and head towards the trail chosen by the 16-year-old detailed the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, the video submitted as evidence showed that 23 minutes later, the driver was captured running back to his car and driving away.
Detectives with the Ventura County Sheriff's office were able to identify the license plate of the vehicle after it was determined that a patrol vehicle with a license plate reader has passed the area at the time of the assault explained the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
The identified license plate eventually led to Ruelas' arrest and later DNA testing from the Ventura County Sheriff's Office Forensic Services Bureau linked Ruelas to evidence obtained from four of the charged attacks detailed the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
Ruelas is currently scheduled for sentencing on Jun. 5 of this year where he faces a maximum sentence of 32 years to life plus 21 additional years state the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
