Man charged with raping 2 teens; additional victims sought

ByABC7.com staff KABC logo
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Alejandro Hernandez Garcia, 41, of San Juan Capistrano, also known as "Shark," is a suspect in the rape of two teens in Orange County.
Alejandro Hernandez Garcia, 41, of San Juan Capistrano, also known as "Shark," is a suspect in the rape of two teens in Orange County.
KABC-KABC

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, California -- A 41-year-old California man is accused of raping two teen girls, and authorities are seeking the public's help identifying more potential victims.

Alejandro Hernandez Garcia - also known as "Tiburon," which means "Shark" in Spanish - is accused of raping a 16-year-old in July 2016 after forcibly pulling her into a garage in San Juan Capistrano.

He is also accused of drugging and then raping a 19 year-old who was lost in Santa Ana.

Authorities say on Aug. 18, 2016, the suspect made contact with the lost woman and offered her an alcoholic drink which, the victim didn't know, contained an illegal drug. They said he then sexually assaulted her in the backseat of his car.

Authorities said about a year after the San Juan Capistrano attack, Garcia was seen in the same neighborhood on July 30, 2017. The victim recognized him and contacted the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

After detectives investigated, he was arrested two days later.

Garcia appeared to have a black eye in a photo released by authorities. Sheriff's Department officials say he was assaulted by gang members sometime prior to his arrest.

Garcia is facing a range of felony sexual-assault charges and could face a maximum of 98 years to life in state prison if convicted on all counts.

He is being held on $1 million bail.