Fugitive Accused of Rape by Intoxication Arrested

Santa Barbara Police arrested 36-year-old Michael Joseph Holden on Sunday for sexual assault. Holden is accused of rape by intoxication at his home following a lengthy investigation.Santa Barbara Police said the victim went to EOS Lounge in Santa Barbara to meet a friend. When she didn’t arrive, the victim contacted Holden, who she had met several months earlier. He agreed to meet her for a drink at The James Joyce in Santa Barbara. After The James Joyce closed, they went to Mel’s Lounge where they talked, watched videos, and started drinking heavily until it closed.After leaving Mel’s Lounge, they walked to Holden’s nearby residence on Cottage Grove Avenue. After arriving the woman recalls using the restroom, and then waking at some point in the night in Holden’s bed. The victim was clothed, but unsure as to why she had been lying on the bed. She informed Holden that she had a headache, so he gave her with a pill he said was headache medication and a beverage. After taking the pill, she remembers waking at around noon the following day, partially clothed on Holden’s bed. Holden returned soon after stating that he had been running errands. She then left in a taxi. A few days later, she confronted Holden, via text, and accused him of sexual assault. Holden denied that they had sex. About a month later she began to feel physically sick. She went to the doctor and discovered she was pregnant. Given the early stage of the pregnancy, the woman suspected Holden was the father. On October 6, 2011, she confronted Holden with this information. He continued to deny being responsible for the pregnancy. Two days later the victim went to Planned Parenthood and contacted the Police Department.The pregnancy was later terminated and the fetal remains submitted to the California Department of Justice Crime Lab for DNA testing. Holden, on felony probation for burglary, would not make himself available for interviews when contacted by Santa Barbara police. Santa Barbara police finally interviewed him when was meeting his new probation officer and submitting to drug testing. He denied having sex with the victim. At the conclusion of the interview, police obtained a DNA swab from Holden.Within days of the interview Holden fled to Mexico. He was seen in Tijuana, Puerto Vallarta, and other locations in central Mexico. On June 8, 2012 Holden was declared the biological father of the fetus by the California Department of Justice. On July 15th, Holden was arrested in the Stanford University Hospital Emergency Room in Palo Alto where he was receiving treatment for a hernia. He is also a suspect in a burglary that took place in Palo Alto on July 14th.He was originally booked into Santa Clara County Jail with bail set at $100,000. Holden is now being held at Santa Barbara County Jail on $1,000, 000 bail.