A judge on Monday ordered that Paul Flores remain in a San Luis Obispo County jail as he awaits trial on charges he killed Kristin Smart during an attempted rape in 1996.
Superior Court Judge Craig B. Van Rooyen ruled there was a “substantial likelihood” that Flores, 44, would pose a danger to the public if he were granted bail and released before trial. The judge said he made the decision after reviewing information submitted under seal by investigators indicating Flores may have sexually assaulted other women.
The judge’s ruling came as police in Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo counties have continued to investigate sexual assaults they suspect Flores may have committed after Smart disappeared while he and she were students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
San Luis Obispo prosecutors said last week they were investigating whether Flores sexually assaulted women in the San Pedro area, where he has lived for the last 15 years. And the Los Angeles Police Department disclosed that detectives had gathered evidence implicating Flores in two alleged sexual assaults. Redondo Beach police in 2013 presented a rape case against Flores to Los Angeles County prosecutors, who ultimately declined to file charges for lack of evidence.
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