A 23-year-old former Marine was charged Wednesday with sexually assaulting an incapacitated female Marine at Camp Pendleton last November.
Pedro Javier Orellana was indicted by a federal grand jury, surrendered and made his first appearance in a Greenbelt, Maryland court, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. On Thursday, a hearing will be held to determine whether Orellana should be detained pending transfer back to San Diego County.
Orellana is accused of assaulting an active-duty Marine on or around Nov. 2 while she was “incapable of appraising the nature of the conduct or was physically incapable of declining participation in the sex act,” according to the indictment.
He faces up to life in prison if ultimately convicted.
— City News Service
