iV Menus owner Patrick Galoustian will face charges from the people of the state of California on behalf of a second victim during his trial, in addition to the first victim’s charges previously reported on by the Nexus.

Galoustian, 45, allegedly assaulted two victims, known as “Jane Doe 1” and “Jane Doe 2” in court documents, on different dates.

Galoustian is facing charges on behalf of two different victims. Courtesy of SBSO 

His preliminary hearing was postponed three times before it was held on June 6. On Wednesday, Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge James Herman set his trial date for Jan. 16, 2019.

Galoustian’s two criminal cases were consolidated on July 11, and he currently faces 33 felony charges overall.

He pled not guilty to all charges. His bail is set at $1 million.

In Doe 1’s case, Galoustian allegedly found the victim intoxicated in a parking lot and “helped her up to his apartment,” Herman said.

Galoustian was arrested on four felony charges on Dec. 18 by the UC Santa Barbara Police Department (UCPD).

UCSB sent out a timely warning on Dec. 19, 2017 regarding the incident but did not name the suspect at that time.

Those charges include kidnap to commit robbery or rape, rape of a drugged and intoxicated victim, penetration with foreign object and two counts of oral copulation by use of force or injury.

In Doe 2’s case, Galoustian and Doe 2 allegedly began text correspondence in November 2017, when Galoustian was in Isla Vista and Doe 2 was in Los Angeles, according to court documents.

The two then arranged for Galoustian to have sex with Doe 2 in exchange for money, a price they haggled over before settling on $1,200, according to text messages presented in court.

“So $1.2k for entire day of sleepover,” read the message from Doe 2 to Galoustian.

On Nov. 22, 2017, Galoustian indicated that he was going to travel to Los Angeles to meet Doe 2, according to the text messages.

Galoustian then traveled to Los Angeles to have sex with Doe 2, according to Robert Sanger, Galoustian’s lawyer. Doe 2 then returned with Galoustian to Santa Barbara for a photoshoot.

UCPD Detective Alexis Dougherty also confirmed this during her testimony on Wednesday.

The UCPD, through its own investigation, found videos on Galoustian’s phone, according to Dougherty. In some of the videos Doe 2 is seen participating in sexual activity, while in others she appears to be asleep or unconscious.

Sanger questioned whether the evidence could be proved criminal in nature, referring to the “arrangement where payment for sex” was made, footage where the victim “appeared to have her eyes open sometimes, aware sometimes, participating sometimes,” and the photoshoot the two participated in the next day.

Sanger further alleged that all sexual activity with Doe 2 occurred in Los Angeles. He argued Galoustian’s case should be tried under the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County Court as opposed to Santa Barbara County, with a motion to set aside the indictment.

However, Herman said because Galoustian brought Doe 2 back to Santa Barbara County, it is rightfully Santa Barbara County’s case to try.

Ultimately, Herman denied the motion to set aside the indictment or information.

Herman also said Galoustian presents a history of taking advantage of women in “improper mental conditions,” citing Doe 1’s intoxication and Doe 2’s alleged drugging by Galoustian.

Herman set Galoustian’s readiness and settlement conference for Nov. 7.

The prosecution expects the trial in January to take six weeks, or approximately 18 court days.

Court documents can be viewed here.

Lan Nguyen contributed reporting.

Correction [Jun. 26, 2019]: Judge James Herman’s name was previously incorrectly spelled as Hernan.

Updated [Oct. 21]: This article was updated to include pdfs of the court documents.

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Sanya Kamidi
Sanya Kamidi serves as the Deputy News Editor and before that was a Social Media Manager. Loves coffee and will find any excuse to miss class for the Nexus. She can be reached at skamidi@dailynexus.com or @skamidi on Twitter.