Man caught via his DNA charged with robbing, beating, kidnapping and raping a store employee

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # 16WF1326

Date: June 24, 2016

MAN IDENTIFIED THROUGH DNA TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR ROBBING, KIDNAPPING, AND SEXUALLY ASSAULTING STORE EMPLOYEE

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man identified through a DNA hit was charged today with robbing, kidnapping, and sexually assaulting a store employee in 2012. Danny Thien Nguyen, 26, Garden Grove, is charged with one felony count each of sexual penetration by foreign object and force, kidnapping to commit a sex offense, second degree burglary, second degree robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 31 years to life in state prison and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration. Nguyen is being held on $1 million bail. His scheduled arraignment in court was continued today to Monday, June 27, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana.

At approximately 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 10, 2012, Nguyen is accused of entering a business on the 9000 block of Talbert Avenue in Fountain Valley. Jane Doe was working alone inside the business at the time. Nguyen is accused of robbing Jane Doe at gunpoint and ordering the victim to a back room in the business, keeping her against her will and sexually assaulting her. DNA samples were collected from the crime scene but the defendant was not identified.

On Oct. 3, 2012, Nguyen pleaded guilty to one felony count of attempted second degree robbery and one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon for a crime that took place on Jan. 7, 2012 (Case # 12WF0733). As part of his sentence, Nguyen was required to submit a DNA sample to the national DNA database, Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).

In March 2016, the DNA samples from the crime scene were processed. In June 2016, the Orange County Crime Lab received a CODIS DNA hit linking Nguyen to the unsolved sexual assault. On June 23, 2016, officers from the Fountain Valley Police Department (FVPD) arrested Nguyen. FVPD investigated this case.

Deputy District Attorney Lexie Elliott of the Sexual Assault Unit is prosecuting this case.

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TONY RACKAUCKAS, District Attorney

Susan Kang Schroeder, Chief of Staff
Office: 714-347-8408
Cell: 714-292-2718

Art Pedroza Editor

Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.

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