Rape trial scheduled for June 19

A jury trial is set in June for a 20-year-old Post Falls man accused of sexually forcing himself on women at parties.

Anthony J. Ruiz is charged with one count of rape and one count of forcible sexual penetration with a foreign object against the victim’s will. Both are felony counts.

Ruiz did not enter a plea at his arraignment earlier this month in Coeur d’Alene’s First District Court, prompting Judge Scott Wayman to enter a not-guilty plea on his behalf.

He is in the Kootenai County Jail on a $50,000 bond for both felonies.

Ruiz was indicted by a grand jury following a police investigation that zeroed in on interviews with alleged victims, the defendant and several witnesses, including former roommates and acquaintances. He was arrested Jan. 26 on a warrant.

According to police reports, Ruiz was intoxicated when he forced himself on women who had also been drinking, at parties last year in Coeur d’Alene.

In one case, he allegedly choked a 19-year-old woman at an apartment near the Kroc Center during a Halloween party. He allegedly forced the woman’s skirt off and penetrated her with a foreign object while pinning her against a wall with her hands behind her back.

As Ruiz lowered his head to the woman’s chest, she reportedly kneed him in the face and escaped, locking herself in a bathroom until someone picked her up.

As she drove away, Ruiz reportedly ran after the car yelling.

In another case that allegedly occurred in April at an apartment on Fruitland Lane west of Lowe’s, according to police, Ruiz forced a 20-year-old woman onto a bed during a party when most of the guests had fallen asleep. He allegedly pinned her to the mattress by placing a knee on her abdomen, undressed her and had sex with her.

The women did not initially report either of the incidents to police, but they immediately told their friends, who later reported the alleged incidents.

A jury trial is set June 19 in Coeur d’Alene. The maximum penalty for either of the felonies is life behind bars.