Copyright 2005, Contra Costa Times

Judge issues gag order in De La Fuente Jr. case

By Ivan Delventhal

(OAKLAND, May 4) -- An Alameda County Superior Court judge on Tuesday granted a defense lawyer's request to impose a gag order on a sexual assault case involving the 32-year-old son of the president of the Oakland City Council.

Ignacio Rafael De La Fuente Jr., the eldest of Ignacio De La Fuente's two adult children, was arraigned in an Oakland courtroom Tuesday afternoon on two counts of forcible rape, which may be related to two victims.

He did not enter a plea to the charges and is due back in court Friday morning for a bail hearing. He has been jailed without bail since surrendering to police last Friday.

On the day of his arrest, police said De La Fuente Jr., a Redwood City resident, was booked on counts of kidnapping and forcible rape. A police spokeswoman said the charges stemmed from the alleged abduction and sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl in Oakland's Fruitvale district April 16. Physical evidence had linked De La Fuente Jr. to the teen, police said.

The Oakland Tribune reported on its Web site Tuesday that police also have linked De La Fuente Jr. to the rape of a 21-year-old woman in August. The charges filed against De La Fuente Jr. include enhancements alleging multiple victims -- the 15-year-old and the 21-year-old -- and that he kidnapped the 15-year-old.

Details of the August incident could not be independently confirmed Tuesday. Deputy district attorney Kevin Murphy, the head of the sexual assault unit and the prosecutor handling the De La Fuente Jr. case, could not be reached for comment.

De La Fuente Jr., dressed in a blue blazer, a blue button-down shirt and with his hands shackled to a waist chain, was accompanied at Tuesday's arraignment by his attorney, Jesse Garcia. He did not speak but glanced several times at his father, Ignacio De La Fuente, who wore a pained expressed as he sat in the front row of the gallery.

During the proceedings, Judge Winifred Smith granted a gag order requested by Garcia that prevents Oakland police, prosecutors and Garcia himself from discussing the "facts and circumstances" of the case. Prosecutor Michael Nieto voiced no objection in court to the defense's request. The judge did not state her reason for granting the order.

Also, Nieto asked for, and obtained, restraining orders for two people -- believed to be the alleged rape victims -- whom he referred to as "Jane Doe" and "Jane Doe No. 2." Those orders prohibit De La Fuente Jr. from having any contact with either. If released on bail, the order would require him to stay at least 100 yards away from each protected person.

Garcia declined to comment after the arraignment Tuesday, citing his self-imposed gag order.

Councilman De La Fuente made a few brief comments to reporters afterward.

"We support our son, we love our son, we hope that everything comes out all right at the end," he said. "Let the wheels of justice move on and we'll see."

Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition, said gag orders should only be granted in high-profile cases where there is a serious danger that a defendant's fair-trial rights will be undermined.

"The judge should not be granting such a motion reflexively," he said. "The mere fact that the defense requested it and there is no objection by the D.A. is not enough because there is a third party called the public that is not represented."