East Bay Rape Suspect Arrested For Multiple Sex Assaults From 2017

MARTINEZ, CA — A 39-year-old Martinez man was arrested last week and charged Monday with multiple, sex-assault felonies that date to 2017, including three counts of rape, in Concord, Pacheco, Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek, according to authorities.

After zeroing in on Christopher David Owens as the suspect in sexual assaults reported this year in the Pacheco area, deputies conducted a warrant search of his Martinez residence Thursday, followed by his arrest, the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff said.

During their investigation, detectives, working with other local law enforcement agencies, linked Owens to other cases, including a March 2017 rape in Walnut Creek, an August 2017 rape in Concord and an attempted rape in October 2020 in Pleasant Hill, the agency said.

Owens was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on suspicion of numerous felony charges and is currently jailed in lieu of $8 million bail, officials said.

The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office on Monday charged Owens with several felonies, including three counts of rape, assault with intent to commit rape, forced oral copulation, sexual penetration by a foreign object, elder abuse and sexual battery, deputies said.

The cases remain under investigation, and detectives said they believe there may be additional victims.

Anyone with any information on the cases can contact Detective A. Kotchevar at the sheriff’s investigation division at (925) 313-2623 or by email at: [email protected]. Tips can be emailed to [email protected] or left via anonymous voice message at (866) 846-3592.

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