2 jailed on sexual assault charge 2 jailed on sexual assault charge (May 14, 2004)

13-year-old victims left sleepover to meet the men

By Corey Pride

Two Mountain View men are in Santa Clara County jail charged with committing lewd acts with a child under the age of 14, stemming from encounters they allegedly had with a pair of 13-year-old girls.

Joseph Tugade 20, and Peter Mendenhall, 19, were originally arrested May 6 on suspicion of rape. Bail has been set at $500,000 and $900,000 respectively. On Friday a judge will decide if their bail amounts are set too high for the charges they currently face.

Mountain View police spokesman Josef Kachman said the charges originate from an April 24 incident where the two girls snuck out of a sleepover, which one of the girls hosted. They left around 2 a.m. to meet the men.

Tugade had met one of the girls at a previous social gathering. He called the girl on her cell phone and he and Mendenhall met the two teens somewhere outside of the girl's residence.

Kachman said the four walked to nearby Monta Loma Elementary School where Tugade allegedly sexually assaulted both girls and Mendenhall allegedly sexually assaulted one. Although the girls voluntarily walked with the men to the school, Kaufman said, sex was not on their minds.

"It was fairly obvious that these girls did not intend to have anything like this happen," he said.

The alleged assaults were not reported to police until May 3. Kaufman said this is not unusual. "A lot of times sexual assault victims come forward later. A lot of shame and trauma are associated with this type of crime," he said.

A trial date is yet to be set. Kaufman says police are still investigating the incident.

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