[UPDATED with More Victims Sought:] Travis Dewayne Batten Jr. Popped for Rapes Dating Back to 2005

UPDATE, JULY 25, 7:56 A.M.: The Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA) is seeking other possible victims of suspected serial rapist Travis Dewayne Batten, Jr. of Irvine.

The 29-year-old is facing felony counts that could put him behind bars from 157 to 204 years with a conviction.

The OCDA lays out its case against the Fletcher Jones Motor Cars mechanic and explains how to contact investigators seeking other potential victims after the jump . . .

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July 22, 2011


OCDA SEEKS PUBLIC'S HELP IN IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL VICTIMS OF
MAN CHARGED WITH THREE SEXUAL ASSAULTS OF WOMEN IN IRVINE AND NEWPORT
BEACH



NEWPORT BEACH – The Orange County District Attorney is seeking the
public's help in identifying potential additional victims of a man who
was charged today with the sexual assaults of three women in the cities
of Irvine and Newport Beach. Travis Dewayne Batten, Jr., 29, Irvine, was
arraigned this afternoon on three felony counts of forcible rape, two
felony counts of assault with intent to commit sexual offense during
commission of first degree burglary, two felony counts of forcible oral
copulation, and one felony count each of assault with intent to commit
sexual offense, sodomy by force, sexual penetration by foreign object by
force, dissuading a witness by force or threat, kidnapping to commit
rape, and first degree residential burglary. He is also charged with
sentencing enhancement allegations for committing sexual offenses during
the commission of a burglary, tying up or binding a person, and sexual
assault of multiple victims. If convicted, Batten faces a sentence
ranging from 157 years to life up to 204 years to life in state prison.
He is being held without bail and is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing,
August 1, 2011, at 8:30 a.m. in Department H-1, Harbor Justice Center,
Newport Beach. 

Between May 2005 and July 2010, Batten is accused breaking into the
residences of three women he did not know while wearing a mask. He is
accused of raping two Irvine women and sexually assaulting a third
living in Newport Beach. Both Irvine attacks occurred at residences in
the same apartment complex, Amherst Apartments. Prior to both Irvine
attacks, residents contacted police reporting a suspicious man and/or
vehicle in and around the area.




At approximately 9:00 p.m. on May 20, 2005, Batten, then-23, is accused
of wearing a mask and breaking into the Newport Beach residence of
40-year-old Jane Doe #1 while she was out. When the victim arrived home,
the defendant is accused of attacking her and throwing Jane Doe #1 to
the ground. Batten is accused of forcing the victim to her bedroom, duct
taping her hands and over her mouth, and sexually assaulting the
victim. He is accused of sexually assaulting Jane Doe #1's breasts and
vagina. Batten is then accused of punching the victim twice in the head
and threatening the victim by stating he would come back and get her if
she contacted police. He is accused of fleeing the scene. Jane Doe #1
called 911.

Newport Beach Police Department officers responded to the scene and
investigated the case. Batten is accused of leaving DNA at the scene,
which was collected by police, processed by Orange County Crime Lab
(OCCL), and entered in the local and State DNA databases.




At approximately 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 30, 2006, Batten is accused of
wearing a dark mask and breaking into the Irvine apartment of
21-year-old Jane Doe #2. While the victim was showering, the defendant
is accused of waiting outside of the victim's bathroom. He is accused of
raping Jane Doe #2 as he exited her bathroom throwing her to the ground
and tying her hands. Batten is accused of sodomizing the victim and
raping her a second time. Before fleeing the scene, the defendant
ordered the victim to get into the shower and not to contact police.
Jane Doe #2 called 911.

Irvine Police Department (IPD) officers investigated the case. Batten is
accused of leaving DNA at the scene, which was processed by OCCL and
entered into the local and State DNA databases. The DNA was matched to
the DNA collected in the 2005 sexual assault.




At approximately 12:00 a.m. on July 8, 2010, the defendant is accused of
breaking into the Irvine apartment of 24-year-old Jane Doe #3 while
wearing a mask. Batten is accused of gaining access into the home while
the victim was showering. He is accused of attacking Jane Doe #3,
throwing her to the ground and binding her hands. Batten is accused of
raping Jane Doe #3 and forcing the victim to engage in mutual oral
copulation. He is accused of ordering the victim to get in the shower
and not to call police before fleeing the scene. Jane Doe #3 called 911.



IPD investigated this case. The defendant is accused of leaving DNA at
the scene, which was collected by police and processed by OCCL. Based on
the DNA, it was determined that the three sexual assaults had been
perpetrated by the same person. IPD continued to receive complaints of a
suspicious man in the same Irvine neighborhood where the two prior
attacks occurred. Batten was linked to the crimes as a result of further
investigation and arrested July 21, 2011, while driving to Fletcher
Jones Motorcars dealership in Newport Beach, where he works as a
mechanic.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with additional information or who
believes they have been a victim is encouraged to contact Supervising
District Attorney Investigator
Lou Gutierrez at (714) 347-8794 or Irvine
Police Department detectives at (949) 724-7194.

Deputy District Attorney
Jennifer Walker of the Sexual Assault Unit is prosecuting this case.

UPDATE, JULY 21, 1:55 P.M.: The Irvine Police Department released
the booking photo at right of a suspected serial rapist blamed for
sexual assaults in Irvine and Newport Beach from May 2005 through July
2010.

Cops also corrected the spelling of the suspect's name: Travis Dewayne Batten, Jr.

ORIGINAL POST, JULY 21, 11:20 A.M.: All Irvine Police detectives had to go on investigating a sexual assault
in November 2006 was DNA evidence collected at the scene. It wound up
matching DNA collected at a Newport Beach rape scene 18 months earlier.

Working
the cases later produced a latent fingerprint from the May 2005 rape in
Newps. But the forensics evidence was of little use without a match to
prints or DNA samples of someone in the crime database.

That all changed yesterday.

Wednesday afternoon, Irvine and Newport Beach police investigators working together arrested 29-year-old Travis Dewayne Batton Batten, Jr. of Irvine. He was
later booked into the Orange County Jail for multiple counts of rape and
other felonies for sexual assaults dating back to May 2005. He is being held without bail.

The trail that led to the arrest re-opened on July 7, 2010, when a sexual assault was reported in the same residential complex as the November 2006 case. Again, DNA was recovered and it ultimately matched that collected at the 2005 and 2006 rape scenes. And, again, the new case started to chill because of no database matches and the assault victim being unable to describe her attacker's face or physique.

But the location similarities prompted  Irvine detectives to conduct uniformed and undercover patrols of the area. Last month, Irvine police received a report of suspicious person prowling in the same area as the assaults. Detectives stepped up surveillance of the area, and some leads helped the department narrow in on an unknown number of suspects.

An Irvine police statement released this morning does not describe exactly how it was done, but detectives were able to obtain fingerprints from these people of interest. Police say Batten's “positively matched” the print recovered in Newport Beach six years ago.

Batten's booking photo is expected to be released later today, according to Irvine Police Lt. Julia Engen, who added detectives are trying to determine if there are other victims out there. If you know anything that can help the case, call Irvine detectives at 949.724.7194.