Man raped a teen in Tacoma, then raped another girl while lab tests pended, charges say
A 22-year-old man accused of raping two teenage girls in 2020 and 2021 was charged this week in Pierce County Superior Court.
Carlos Manuel Mora was charged Wednesday with second-degree rape of a child and second-degree rape for the sexual assaults of two girls, ages 13 and 15. He is to be arraigned in Pierce County Superior Court Nov. 24.
In charging documents, prosecutors wrote that the assaults occurred after Mora began talking with the girls on Snapchat.
The first incident occurred in September 2020 when Mora gave a 15-year-old a ride in his car. The two walked into an alley together after his car broke down near South 64th and South Warner streets in Tacoma. There, Mora allegedly choked the girl unconscious and then raped her after she woke up.
The teenager told Puyallup police Mora was in the military. According to the probable cause statement, Mora called police earlier that day because his vehicle had broken down and he needed a ride to Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Mora allegedly left the girl in the alley. She told police she was able to get a ride to the hospital, where she completed a sexual assault forensic exam.
In October 2021, results from the victim’s forensic exam showed some DNA present was very likely from Mora.
According to the probable cause statement, DNA from the victim and two other people was found. Prosecutors wrote that it is far more likely that DNA found in the exam came from Mora and another unknown person than from two unknown people.
While police waited for results of the exam, Mora was found in January 2021 sitting next to a 13-year-old girl in his car with his pants down. The girl told police Mora had forced her to perform oral sex on him.
In an interview with police, Mora claimed the girl told him she was turning 18. And in the first incident with the 15-year-old, he denied any allegations related to the alleged sexual assault. Mora has not been taken into custody.
Charging documents gave this account:
On September 15, 2020, Puyallup Police Department officers were called to St. Joseph Medical Center for a report of a rape that occurred several hours prior.
There, police talked with a 15-year-old girl who said she met Mora through Snapchat or Instagram. According to the declaration for determination of probable cause, she asked him for a ride earlier that day, and while the two were driving around, Mora’s car broke down near South 64th and South Warner Streets.
When Mora’s car broke down, the two began walking and eventually went into an alley. There, the teenager told police, Mora wrapped his arms around her neck and choked her unconscious.
The teenager woke up, and Mora pushed her down and raped her, prosecutors wrote in the charging document.
After the assault, Mora left her in the alley. The teenager flagged someone down to help her make a call and get a ride to the hospital, where she completed a sexual assault forensic exam.
Three days later, police contacted Mora and advised him of his Miranda rights. Mora told police he was driving with the girl when his vehicle broke down. He said the girl walked off while he looked for a police station. Mora denied all allegations related to the sexual assault.
On Jan. 22, 2021, a caller reported a man was possibly masturbating in a parking lot in his vehicle. When police arrived, they found Mora with his pants around his ankles and a girl in the seat next to him.
The girl in the car initially told police she was 18, but when she talked with police away from Mora, she said she was 13. Mora told her to say she was 18, the girl told police.
In an interview with police, the girl said she had been communicating with Mora through Snapchat. The two met at a park earlier that day.
At some point, the two got in a car together. According to the probable cause statement, the girl said Mora forced her to perform oral sex on him. Then, he told her to take her pants off.
“She started to cry and he told her to ‘just do it,’” prosecutors wrote in the charging document.
The girl removed her pants, and Mora began touching her genitals, according to the probable cause statement. The girl told him to stop, and then police arrived.
In an interview with police, Mora claimed the girl told him she was turning 18. He said she performed oral sex on him and that he touched her genitals. Mora also allegedly admitted that the girl told him to stop so she could leave.
Police reviewed some texts between Mora and the girl but found no messages where the girl told him she was 13, prosecutors wrote in the charging document. Police also looked at Mora’s phone and found numerous pornographic websites with “teens” as a topic.
