Oakland: Man charged with raping sex worker at gunpoint

OAKLAND — A man has been arrested and charged with raping and robbing a woman he met in an open air sex market, but the robbery may have been his undoing, court records show.

Sergio Esquivel-Aguilar, 19, was charged with felony counts of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, and second-degree robbery, as well as two misdemeanor gun possession counts. He is being held at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin with bail set at $400,000, court records show.

The woman told police that around 4 a.m. on June 29, Esquivel-Aguilar picked her up and they agreed to a $120 price tag for sex. At some point after she got into his car, Esquivel-Aguilar allegedly choked her, broke her acrylic nails and pointed a gun to her head as he forced himself on her. He allegedly took her cellphone before letting her go, according to court records.

Police say the victim was able to track her phone from the scene of the June 29 sexual assault — near International Boulevard and 8th Avenue — to the parking lot of the Safeway near Fruitvale Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard. Esquivel-Aguilar was arrested hours later, his car still parked in the lot, according to court records.

Esquivel-Aguilar is set to enter a plea at his next court date, July 15, records show.