A Castaic man pleaded no contest in a plea deal for a case involving the suspected rape of a woman at a house party last year.
Andrew Pennington, 19, was arrested on Sept. 30 on the allegation that he had drugged and sexually assaulted a coworker at a Stevenson Ranch home on Aug. 4.
The Castaic man had been originally charged with one felony count each of rape by use of drugs, oral copulation by anesthesia or controlled substance and sexual penetration by anesthesia or controlled substance.
“Pennington pleaded no contest to one count of assault likely to commit great bodily injury,” said Ricardo Santiago, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on Monday. “It was a count added for a negotiated plea.”
The D.A.’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for further details as to why the allegations of rape had been specifically dropped from the case.
Pennington’s sentencing is slated for March 24, Santiago said.
The Castaic man’s arrest stems from a report filed by the victim on Aug. 12 at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.
The victim reported her belief that on Aug. 4, at a home on the 25000 block of Shaw Place, Pennington had used a combination of drugs and alcohol to assault her.
The suspect and the victim worked together at a restaurant in the Santa Clarita Valley, said Sgt. Brian Hudson of the Special Victims Unit at the time of the incident.
The Signal confirmed on Monday that Pennington is the son of a former California Highway Patrol officer who recently left the department and moved out of state.
