Judge denies request to charge Paul Flores with rape in Kristin Smart murder case

Jul. 15—A judge on Wednesday denied a request by the prosecution to charge Paul Flores, who accused of killing Cal Poly student Kristin Smart, with rape.

San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Judge Craig Van Rooyen denied the motion by the District Attorney's Office to charge Flores, 44, with two counts of drugged rape stemming from two alleged and unrelated incidents in Los Angeles County several years ago. I

Flores is charged with murdering Smart, a 19-year-old college freshman who went missing on May 25, 1996. She was declared dead in 2002 and her body has never been recovered.

Ruben Flores, 80, Paul Flores' father, is the second defendant in the case and is charged with murder accessory after the fact. He is accused of hiding Smart's body after she died.

Both men made their first in-person court appearance Wednesday since they were charged on April 14, and have pleaded not guilty.

Van Rooyen approved a request by Bob Sanger, Paul Flores' attorney, to reschedule a July 20 preliminary hearing in the case for Aug. 2.

The prosecution's request to amend Paul Flores' criminal complaint was filed on June 25, the same day the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office allowing San Luis Obispo County officials to prosecute the rape counts. The rapes are alleged to have involved two female victims in 2011 and 2017.

The request was made to support the prosecution's theory that Flores also tried to rape Smart, although the statute of limitations on that particular allegation has expired.

Before getting into arguments, however, Van Rooyen denied a motion by Sanger, Paul Flores' attorney, to close the proceedings to discuss the prosecution's request and defense opposition.

After denying the motion to close the court, Van Rooyen unsealed the records related to the prosecution's request, which contained information that Sanger described as "prejudicial" to a potential jury.

The prosecution's motion was based on a law that allows officials to connect cases with sex offenses that were committed in the commission of the same crimes or contained offenses in the same class of crimes.

Deputy District Attorney Chris Peuvrelle cited evidence discovered in the investigation, including search results of Flores' computer that contained home-made rape videos and Google searches of rape fetish pornography, which showed the defendant's "propensity" to commit such crimes.

In addition, Peuvrelle cited the discovery of tramadol and flexeril, which he described as date rape drugs.

"This case is exactly why the legislature has this law," Peuvrelle said, adding that Flores' conduct is consistent with that of a serial rapist. "Quite frankly, Paul Flores is the poster boy for why this law exists," he said.

Sanger, however, argued that there was no evidence that Smart was raped or murdered. He mentioned incidents involving reports of suspects before Smart went missing, including a report of a peeping tom that was never followed up on by police, and the idea that she could still be alive somewhere. He cited alleged information that Smart had several different aliases and that she was pregnant shortly before she disappeared.

"What I just heard is just what I was concerned about, a closing argument with a lot of innuendo and persuasive language that tie things together that [are not] tied together," Sanger said. "I'm very disappointed in the idea of making an emotional argument as opposed to sticking to the facts and the law."

Van Rooyen denied the prosecution's motion to add the drugged rape charges, stating there was a possibility it could inappropriately influence a jury. He added that Los Angeles County officials could still prosecute Flores for the alleged rapes.

The preliminary hearing, which is expected to last 12 days, was rescheduled for 9 a.m. on Aug. 2 in Dept. 5 of San Luis Obispo County Superior Court.