A 50-year-old Los Angeles County man is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting nine women in his Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach homes, with one of the women dying of an overdose, prosecutors said on Friday, Oct. 18.
Michael DiGiorgio faces murder, three counts of rape by use of a drug, two counts of sodomy by use of a drug, five counts of sexual penetration by use of a drug, two counts each of forcible sexual penetration and furnishing a controlled substance, and single counts of forcible rape, oral copulation by use of a drug and rape of an unconscious person, the District Attorney’s Office said.
If convicted as charged, he faces a possible sentence of life in prison.
Prosecutors said the crimes occurred from May 2019 to November 2021. It wasn’t disclosed when the alleged murder occurred.
“I extend my deepest sympathy to the victims, whose lives have been irrevocably changed, and the life lost by the alleged brutal acts of the offender,” District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement. “Our office is committed to holding him accountable for the pain and trauma he has inflicted.”
Jail records show DiGiorgio was arrested Thursday, Oct. 17, and that he was being held without the possibility of bail.
DiGiorgio had a previous arrest in August 2020, about a month after Redondo Beach police responded to the 600 block of South Prospect Avenue and found a woman who had overdosed, according to a report from CBS Los Angeles. During the investigation, police learned the woman had been sexually assaulted by DiGiorgio, they said at the time. DiGiorgio posted $300,000 bail that day and was released.
Investigators asked anyone with information on the case to call the Redondo Beach police hotline at 714-863-2859.
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