By Dorrin Akbari
(Trigger Warning: This article contains descriptions of sexual assault.)
SACRAMENTO, CA — A trial date has been set here in Sacramento County Superior Court for a defendant accused of raping four victims ranging in age from 14 to 25—three of them from the Children’s Receiving Home of Sacramento, a shelter.
Defendant Roland Rylander appeared before Judge Emily Vasquez in Dept. 32 on Monday for his preliminary hearing. His court-appointed counsel, Keith Staten, sat next to him at the defense table while Deputy District Attorney TeriAnn Grimes appeared via Zoom.
Judge Vasquez began by reading the charges brought against the defendant: one felony count of lewd acts with a minor child under 14 years of age, one felony count of furnishing meth to a minor, one felony count of rape by use of force, and one felony count of rape of an unconscious victim.
DDA Grimes noted that she would be presenting evidence at the hearing regarding a fourth victim, for whom she may amend an additional charge against the defendant in the future.
Peace Officer Jeffrey Thompson and Detectives Lindsey Lamb and Sara Dorsey provided testimony for the prosecution.
In total, the prosecution identified four victims of various ages whom the defendant was alleged to have assaulted (not real names): Precious Doe, 14; Tierra Doe, 16; Desiree Doe, 17; and Kristen Doe, 25.
Three of the four victims were residents of the Children’s Receiving Home of Sacramento, which provides shelter to children and young adults suffering abuse and neglect, when their assaults took place.
Detective Lamb spoke to Precious Does’ case. Precious reported to the detective that she’d “had sex” with the defendant on two separate occasions while she was 14 years old and under the influence of marijuana, methamphetamine, and alcohol allegedly provided to her by the defendant.
The defendant was said to have approached the victim near the Children’s Receiving Home in August 2018.
When asked if she’d like to smoke marijuana with the defendant, the victim accepted and got in his vehicle. Once inside the vehicle, she drank two Four Lokos (malt beverages), smoked two “blunts,” and snorted “a dot” of methamphetamine—the defendant was said to have supplied the latter two substances.
The victim noted numerous times during her interview that she felt intoxicated. Later that night, the defendant took the victim to a liquor store, where he allegedly purchased liquor that he poured into the victim’s mouth.
The victim stated to police that she didn’t want to drink further, but was pressured to drink approximately three shots of the purchased liquor. She eventually threw up.
Eventually, the victim ended up in the backseat of the defendant’s car. She could not recall how she got there. She did not recall if she undressed on her own or if the defendant asked her to do so, telling officers, “It was all a blur.”
Rylander allegedly did not wear a condom during the incident. The victim reported that he said, “I’m so, so sorry.” A staff member from the Children’s Receiving Home took the victim to the hospital after she returned to the facility that night.
DNA samples taken as part of her sexual assault kit at the hospital were found to match that of the defendant. The victim also identified the defendant in a photo lineup.
The defendant was said to have approached the victim on two additional occasions following the initial assault.
During the second encounter, the defendant once again supplied the victim with marijuana, alcohol, and methamphetamine. The final time that he approached the victim, she ran away, noting to police that she was “scared of him.”
Six months before Precious Doe’s assault, the defendant allegedly used force to rape 17-year-old Desiree Doe. Desiree was also staying at the Children’s Receiving Home when she was approached by the defendant in February 2018.
The defendant approached the victim, introduced himself as “William,” and asked her if she wanted to smoke marijuana. The victim accepted his offer and proceeded to smoke marijuana with the defendant in his car.
At some point during the night, the victim reported that “William” tried to touch her thigh. When she moved away from him, he said, “You started this, so you’re going to finish this.”
The victim told him that she had a girlfriend and was not interested in men. Her attacker ignored her comments and proceeded to pull her pants down.
However, he did not end up raping the victim at that point in the night. Instead, he said that he needed to go to his brother’s home. He drove both of them to the home, where the victim smoked marijuana with both men.
Following that encounter, “William” took the victim to a park. The victim asked him to take her to her home, but he told her that he didn’t have enough gas. She moved from the front seat of the vehicle to the back seat. “William” followed her, put the full weight of his body on top of her, and assaulted her. The victim repeatedly indicated that she did not consent to the encounter and attempted to hit her assailant.
He dropped her off at the Children’s Receiving Home at 8 a.m. the next day. The DNA from her sexual assault kit matched that of the defendant, Roland Rylander.
Detective Sara Dorsey provided testimony regarding the Rylander’s final count as well as the fourth victim for whom no charges had yet to be brought against the defendant.
Kristen Doe was 25 years old at the time that her 2017 assault took place. She had gone to a party at a friend’s home and was severely intoxicated.
She reported “passing out” on her friend’s futon at 1 a.m. There had been no one else in the room with her at the time. She awoke the next morning with no recollection of what had happened the night before.
She saw a man she identified as “RJ” getting off of her and pulling his pants up. She looked down to see that her pants and underwear were off as well.
The prosecution noted that the defendant’s middle initial is J. The victim had a sexual assault kit taken that day. Sperm found as part of her vaginal swab matched that of the defendant.
Detective Dorsey had also spoken to Tierra Doe, who had reported a March 2018 assault. She was 16 years old at the time of the incident.
The victim reported that a “white, chubby man with brown hair” had approached her outside of the Children’s Receiving Home and supplied her with alcohol. She had gotten in the man’s vehicle, where he then attempted to touch her.
She recalled moving away from the man but was so intoxicated at that point that she blacked out. The victim regained consciousness once the man dropped her off at a gas station.
Feeling pain in her vaginal area, the victim believed she’d been raped and asked the gas station employee to call the police. DNA identified as part of her sexual assault kit matched that of the defendant.
The defense called no witnesses to testify at the preliminary hearing.
Given the consistent DNA evidence and similar descriptions of events, Judge Vasquez found probable cause to hold the defendant to answer to all four counts against him.
Rylander’s trial is set for July 26.
Dorrin Akbari graduated from UC Berkeley in 2019 with a B.A. in Legal Studies and a minor in Persian. She is from San Jose, CA.
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