Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Man Accused Of Holding Teen Captive For Ten Years Acquitted Of Kidnapping
Isidro Garcia, the man who was arrested in 2014 for kidnapping a 15-year-old girl, holding her captive and sexually abusing her for a decade, was acquitted on one of his criminal charges Friday.ABC 7 reports that Garcia was acquitted of kidnapping, but convicted of committing lewd acts on a child. The Fullerton jury was deadlocked on a verdict regarding a rape charge, leading prosectors to drop that count, according to CBS L.A.
In June 2014, Garcia pleaded not guilty to all of the charges: one felony count of kidnapping to commit a sexual offense, one felony count of forcible rape, three felony counts of lewd acts on a minor.
The details of the case are very disturbing. In May of 2014 the victim, then 25, arrived at a Bell Gardens police station, and told authorities that Garcia drugged and kidnapped her. He held her captive for ten years—raping and abusing her, and forcing her to marry him and have his child. As LAist reported in 2014:
Before she was kidnapped as a teenager, the woman had recently immigrated from from Mexico to join her mother and sister in Santa Ana. She didn't have papers and she spoke no English when she arrived. Garcia was her mother's live-in boyfriend, and he would use the family's undocumented status against her. Garcia fixated on her from the time he met her in February 2004 and would buy her presents. Her mother suspected that he had been sexually abusing her 15-year-old daughter at the time, and it sounds like she was right: the victim says Garcia raped her while her mother was at work between June and August of that year. One day Garcia allegedly hit the mother during a fight, causing the teen to flee to a nearby park. Garcia followed her, where she complained she had a headache and said she wanted to go home. Santa Ana Police Anthony Bertagna told City News Service, "He told her that 'She keeps saying she has a headache and wants to go home, and he tells her, 'You can't. Your mom's called police and they'll deport you."
Garcia allegedly gave her five pills then, and she woke up in a garage in Compton, beginning an ordeal that would last 10 years. Police say he was apparently able to get away with his deeds by putting on a good front, moving around, forging documents and psychologically and physically abusing his victim.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Isolated showers can still hit the L.A. area until Friday as remnants from the tropical storm move out. -
First aspiring spectators must register online, then later in 2026 there will be a series of drawings. -
It's thanks to Tropical Storm Mario, so also be ready for heat and humidity, and possibly thunder and lightning. -
![A Black woman sits at a dais with a flag in the background. A name placard in front of her reads: Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kell[um].](https://scpr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5425437/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6298x3897+0+0/resize/640x396!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fscpr-brightspot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2F76%2F00%2Febed9a7a4fbd9e5ba12997e51d59%2Fgettyimages-1258669633.jpg)
L.A. County investigators have launched a probe into allegations about Va Lecia Adams Kellum and people she hired at the L.A. Homeless Services Authority. -
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass suspended a state law allowing duplexes, calling more housing unsafe. But in Altadena, L.A. County leaders say these projects could be key for rebuilding. -
This measure on the Nov. 4, 2025, California ballot is part of a larger battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives next year.
![A Black woman sits at a dais with a flag in the background. A name placard in front of her reads: Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kell[um].](https://scpr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/45c201e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6298x3894+0+0/resize/786x486!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fscpr-brightspot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2F76%2F00%2Febed9a7a4fbd9e5ba12997e51d59%2Fgettyimages-1258669633.jpg)
Best of LAist