Testimony began Thursday in the kidnap and rape trial of a man who is accused of sexually assaulting a Pacific Beach woman who was also a German exchange student at the time.
Friends of the woman told a seven man, five woman jury they went to several bars in Pacific Beach on New Year’s Eve, 2015, but the victim became ill and took a Uber to go home by herself.
That’s when Jacob Paul Skorniak, 51, somehow got the young woman into his Dodge Ram truck and allegedly assaulted her in the early morning hours on Jan. 1.
Deputy District Attorney Lisa Fox told the jury the victim was apparently intoxicated and has no memory of how she got into Skorniak’s truck.
“The next thing she recalled is a knife to her neck in the truck,” said Fox.
Fox said her parents in Germany experienced their “biggest nightmare” when the woman’s phone accidently dialed them during the assault. She said the parents heard their daughter crying and a man’s voice before the phone went dead.
Her parents called German police, who were able to connect them to San Diego Police. The victim’s sister in Germany called one of the women who was with her earlier. Police officers gathered on Sapphire Street where the victim used to live before she moved back to Germany.
Fox said a service station worker noticed the victim motioning to him, and she told him she had been kidnapped. He couldn’t get her out of the truck before Skorniak drove off with her. The worker called 911 at 3:17 a.m. with a description of the truck.
Skorniak drove her back to Pacific Beach and saw police cars, so he dropped her some blocks away. He fled the area.
Fox said the woman’s dress was ripped and she underwent a rape exam in the hospital. She said a DNA test showed a match to Skorniak.
Skorniak was arrested on Jan. 21 in Santa Barbara and a memory card inside his truck appeared to show a brief recording of the assault, said the prosecutor.
Attorney Kristin Scogin, who represents Skorniak, told jurors and San Diego Superior Court Judge Runston Maino the victim was in an “alcohol induced blackout.”
Scogin said the victim and Skorniak spent 3 1/2 hours together, but she only recalls a few minutes passing.
Scogin told jurors they must decide if she consented to have sex with Skorniak and whether she voluntarily got into his truck.
The Uber driver is expected to testify that he stopped two blocks from her apartment so she could throw up outside. He offered to take her home, but she said she could walk the rest of the way. She dropped her passport in the car and he gave back to her.
Scogin urged a not guilty verdict for all three charges, which is rape, kidnapping for rape, and forcible digital penetration.
The first witness was a 23-year-old woman only identified as Anna who is one of her friends earlier that evening. Anna is also German and spoke with an interpreter.
“I was sure she could make it home alone in the Uber,” said Anna.
The victim’s sister called Anna in the bar to let her know about her sister’s call, and the women also called 911. They all went back to her Sapphire Street apartment to talk to police.
If Skorniak is convicted of kidnapping for rape, he could face a life sentence in prison. He remains in jail on $1 million bail.