Suspect Who Sexually Assaulted Hikers Convicted In Court

WOODLAND HILLS—On Wednesday, May 8, Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced Edgar Rodriguez Ruelas, 42, of Woodland Hills, was convicted by a jury on May 2, of five felony counts related to assaults on women in their homes or on hiking trails, in Thousand Oaks, and Oak Park.

Ruelas was found guilty of assault with intent to commit a forcible sex crime on a person under 18, two additional counts of assault with intent to commit a forcible sex crime on adults, assault with intent to commit a forcible sex crime during a residential burglary, and forcible sexual penetration by a foreign object, with the special allegation that the crime was committed during a residential burglary where the defendant entered with the intent to commit a forcible sex crime.

Jurors returned on May 6, 2024, to decide on several aggravating factors. On May 7, the jury found three aggravating factors true, including an allegation that Ruelas represents a serious danger to society.

Between June 2017, and March 2020, the defendant attacked five female victims. The first charged offense occurred on June 15, 2017. Ruelas assaulted a 25-year-old female after entering her Thousand Oaks apartment through an unlocked door. The victim woke up after hearing Ruelas open her bedroom door. He tried to force her onto her bed, but the victim fought back. She was able to yell for her roommate and after a brief struggle, Ruelas fled.

On July 14, 2017, Ruelas assaulted another woman who was hiking alone at approximately 5:45 a.m. in Wildwood Regional Park, in Thousand Oaks. Ruelas stalked the victim through the park before jumping out from behind bushes wearing all black and a face covering. He took the victim to the ground, straddled her, and groped her. The victim told him she had already called the police and her husband, which caused Ruelas to flee. Surveillance captured a vehicle owned by Ruelas speeding away from the trailhead and through the surrounding neighborhood. That vehicle would later be found at Ruelas’ Woodland Hills apartment complex.

In the early morning hours of October 25, 2017, Ruelas entered a Thousand Oaks apartment through an open door while the victim and her boyfriend were sleeping. The victim awoke to find Ruelas standing over her. Ruelas placed one hand over the victim’s mouth and sexually assaulted her with his other hand. With his hand covering the victim’s mouth he shifted and as she called out to her boyfriend, Ruelas fled out the door.

The victim’s boyfriend chased down Ruelas and struggled with him, until Ruelas broke free and fled. The next charged assault occurred on April 12, 2019, at approximately 5:40 p.m. on a hiking trail, in Oak Park. Ruelas emerged from bushes along the trail wearing all black and a ski mask. He tackled the victim to the ground and grabbed at her clothing as she fought back. The victim screamed for help as she struggled with Ruelas.

The victim told Ruelas that others knew her location, causing Ruelas to flee. The victim returned to the trailhead where she encountered a dogwalker who called 911.

The fifth and final charged attack was against a 16-year-old victim on a hiking trail near her home in Oak Park, the afternoon of March 5, 2020. Ruelas emerged from bushes, dressed in black, wearing a mask, and gloves. He pushed the victim to the ground and used his hand to cover her mouth. The victim screamed for help and struck Ruelas with a ukulele she was carrying.

She escaped down the trail until she found a neighbor who helped her call her family and 911. Ventura County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene and recovered surveillance video from the neighborhood. The video showed the victim walking into the open space trails, and 30 seconds later a vehicle consistent with one owned by Ruelas parked nearby. The driver exited the vehicle and headed toward the same trail utilized by the victim.

Approximately 23 minutes later, the video captured the driver running back to his car and driving away. Detectives with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office were able to identify the license plate on the vehicle after they determined that a patrol vehicle with a license plate reader had passed through the area near the time of the attack.

This provided Ruelas’ license plate information which led to his arrest. Detectives conducted significant investigations to identify the other crimes perpetrated by Ruelas.

DNA testing was performed by forensic scientists with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Services Bureau. Ruelas’ DNA was linked to items of evidence obtained from each of these attacks, except for the attack occurring in Wildwood Regional Park.

Ruelas will be sentenced on June 5, 2024, at 9 a.m. in courtroom 46 of the Ventura County Superior Court. He faces a maximum possible sentence of 32 years to life, plus 21 additional years.