Castaic man pleads not guilty to alleged Stevenson Ranch rape

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A Castaic man accused of raping a woman at a home in Stevenson Ranch earlier this year pleaded not guilty to the allegation in open court on Monday. 

Andrew Pennington, 19, was arrested Sept. 30 in connection to an assault that was reported to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station on Aug. 12.  

The woman who filed the report said that roughly a week earlier, on Aug. 4, that Pennington — a man she worked with at a Santa Clarita Valley restaurant — had attacked her at a house on the 25000 block of Shaw Place, according to Sgt. Brian Hudson of the Special Victims Unit. 

Detectives believe a combination of drugs and alcohol were involved in the assault, according to officials.  

The case filed against Pennington alleges one count each of rape, oral copulation and sexual penetration by a controlled substance, according to Greg Risling, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. 

Pennington is scheduled to return to court on Dec. 6 for a pre-preliminary hearing. A pre-preliminary hearing is designed to ensure both the prosecution and defense are ready to move forward with a preliminary hearing — a proceeding that involves a judge deciding if there is enough evidence for a case to head to trial.   

Pennington was released on bond Oct. 22 after being held in lieu of $200,000 bail, according to L.A. County Sheriff’s Department arrest records.    

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