The man accused in two sexual assaults and other crimes in San Luis Obispo this summer made his first court appearance Monday morning in connection with the case.
Handcuffed and dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit, Arthur Rocha stood before a San Luis Obispo County Superior Court judge where he was appointed a public defender and later entered not guilty pleas to the multiple felony charges against him.
The 40-year-old remains in custody at San Luis Obispo County Jail and is being held on $1 million bond.
Rocha was arrested August 1 after San Luis Obispo police said evidence recovered linked him to assaults on July 8 and 13 and other residential burglaries.
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office has filed multiple felony charges against him, which include assault with a deadly-weapon, making criminal threats, first-degree burglary and several enhancements, including use of a deadly weapon, specifically, a knife.
Rocha is due back in court for a pre-preliminary hearing on August.
If convicted on the assault charge alone, he faces life in state prison.
The criminal complaint filed Friday shows Rocha also has a prior strike under the California Three Strikes Law.
For more on this story, watch KSBY News Monday at 5 and 6 p.m.
Arthur Rocha
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