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SANTA CRUZ — A judge this week asked a prominent Aptos real estate broker to plead to three rape-related felony charges.
Frank DeBernardo, CEO and broker of Capitola real estate firm DeBernardo Team, was identified in court documents as “Jane Doe” after a party at his parents' home in November 2021. He was indicted in August 2022 on suspicion of raping an unconscious woman. The charge of intimidation of a witness was related to a subsequent alleged incident in December 2021, according to a complaint filed by the Santa Cruz County District Attorney's Office.
Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Steven Siegel determined there was enough evidence to proceed to trial after a lengthy six-day preliminary hearing that ended Tuesday. DeBernardo's lawyers called Jane Doe to the stand on Tuesday, prosecutor Michael Mahan opposed direct questioning, and Siegel ultimately overrode the defense's objections, according to the hearing minutes. It was discontinued. The woman was put on the stand to prove that she was not a reliable witness, but Mr. Siegel disagreed with this assertion.
DeBernardo, 47, who was featured in the cover story of Top Agent Magazine: California Edition on July 22, 2022, shares a similar name with the former Soquel High School softball coach, but is a different person. The defendant is listed as the CEO of Portfolio Real Estate, which has 20 years of experience as a real estate investor and broker, primarily focusing on luxury real estate in India. It is said to have generated more than $250 million in real estate sales since 1998. Santa Cruz.
A related civil suit filed by Doe against DeBernardo is a follow-on to the criminal suit. The criminal attorney is scheduled to reappear in court on March 13th for arraignment regarding this information.
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