Worker raped woman in store basement, Oregon officials say. He's convicted
Daniel Luis Cassinelli was found guilty of first-degree rape and other charges in connection with the January 2015 assault, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office said in an April 11 news release.
Cassinelli faces at least eight years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced in July, according to prosecutors.
McClatchy News reached out to his attorney for comment April 15 and was awaiting a response.
Cassinelli, now 46, is accused of raping the woman during a shift at a Rite Aid drugstore in the Portland area, prosecutors said. He caught the woman shoplifting and took her to a basement office and raped her, according to prosecutors.
Afterward, he 'walked the victim to the surveillance room where he showed her the cameras and explained he had been watching her for quite some time,' prosecutors said. He told her to keep quiet and he wouldn't report her, according to prosecutors.
The woman took a bus to a neighboring city and disclosed the assault to a transit officer, prosecutors said, adding that police investigated and identified Cassinelli.
However, 'the victim eventually separated from the case because of life circumstances and the case went cold,' according to prosecutors.
But in 2021, a detective revived it thanks to a Sexual Assault Kit Initiative grant, prosecutors said.
The detective 'got in contact with the victim,' and she 'gave another account that was largely consistent,' prosecutors said.
He also looked at video, including footage that showed Cassinelli and the woman going into the office, prosecutors said.
'They are in the office for over 20 minutes. Records from Rite Aid show that the defendant had stopped the victim in two prior instances and wrote reports for those contacts, however, no report was written for this lengthy interaction during the assault,' prosecutors said, adding that 'the defendant would have been in violation of policy by being alone with a female in the office and by not writing a report.'
Enough evidence was collected 'to bring an indictment and trial,' prosecutors said.
In the news release, Deputy District Attorney Quinn Zemel said 'victims, no matter their background or life circumstances deserve to be believed, and will be believed.'
Zemel added that it is 'never too late for justice.'
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