The owner of the Voce Del Mare, an Italian restaurant in La Jolla, pleaded not guilty Monday to 14 felony counts of sexually assaulting four women.
Bail for Daniel Dorado, 59, was set at $900,000, which was the same amount that was set after he was arrested on March 28 by San Diego Police.
The attorneys argued about bail in a closed chambers conference with San Diego Superior Court Judge Maureen Hallahan. The judge told the audience the prosecutor had asked for a bail increase while Dorado’s attorney sought a bail reduction.
Deputy District Attorney Katherine Flaherty said the charges include three counts of rape of an unconscious person, oral copulation of an unconscious person, sexual battery, and assault with intent to commit rape.
“All of the victims told very similar stories,” said Flaherty outside the courtroom.
Flaherty said one incident occurred inside the restaurant, but “the rest were in other places.” One incident occurred in January, one in 2017, another in 2015, and the oldest one goes back to 2009, said Flaherty.
“The San Diego Police Department has been actively investigating the case,” said Flaherty.
If convicted of all charges, Dorado faces a 30-year maximum sentence, she said.
“Mr. Dorado is adamant there is no truth for these charges,” said his attorney, Daniel Greene, afterward. “He is an upstanding member of the community.”
“He was completely stunned by the allegations in this case,” said Greene. “He has employees who believe in him.”
“He has never drugged anyone. He has never raped anyone. He wants his day in court,” said Greene.
“He’s outraged by (the allegations) and he wants to clear his name,” said Greene. “He hasn’t been in trouble before.”
Greene wants to argue for lower bail again at hearing that was set for April 5. A status hearing was set for April 9 and a tentative preliminary hearing date was scheduled for April 13.
KGTV (Channel 10) aired an interview of a young woman last week who said she applied for a job from Dorado and he offered her some wine during the interview at the restaurant.
She said she woke up hours later without clothing and that Dorado was also naked, but she was unsure what had happened. It is not yet known if her allegations are part of the case against Dorado.
The judge signed protective orders for the four victims and ordered him not to contact them or have anyone contact them on his behalf.
No one could be reached by phone Monday at the restaurant which is located at 5721 La Jolla Boulevard in the Bird Rock area. Its website has the message “sorry, we’re doing some work on the site” and could not be accessed.