CERRITOS : Rape Suspect Ordered to Be Held Without Bail
A 20-year-old suspected gang member accused of raping three 12-year-old girls in the Cerritos area was ordered held without bail Thursday.
Wagner R. Sampang, who authorities say is a transient, was arraigned at Los Cerritos Municipal Court in Bellflower. He pleaded innocent to eight felony counts, including five charges of forcible rape and three counts of forcible lewd acts with a child under the age of 14.
Sampang is accused of befriending young girls at shopping malls and in other public settings, raping them and then warning them that they would face retaliation by members of his gang if they reported the incidents. He was arrested Tuesday evening as he left a friend’s house in Lakewood, sheriff’s deputies said.
Judge Philip K. Mautino ordered Sampang held without bail. Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Samoian had asked Mautino to set bail at $1 million “due to the predatory nature of the defendant’s conduct.â€
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 3.
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