Cathedral City pilot accused of multiple sexual assaults extradited back to OC

A 51-year-old Cathedral City resident charged with a trio of attacks on women in Aliso Viejo dating back to January 2020 was extradited from Anchorage, Alaska, and was being booked into Orange County Jail.  

Robert Daniel Yucas, an Army veteran and cargo pilot, is suspected of sexually assaulting a woman last month near Pacific Park Drive and Alicia Parkway, and two other women in January and April of last year in roughly the same area.

Yucas, who was arrested last month in Alaska, is charged with three counts of kidnapping to commit a sex offense, three counts of assault with the intent to commit a sex offense, a count of attempted forcible rape and a count of rape, all felonies, according to court records.   

Investigators checked DNA recovered from the victims in Orange County, but got no matches in law enforcement databases, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said.

A break in the case came when investigators received an anonymous tip through Orange County Crime Stoppers about a person -- Yucas -- who was arrested in an unspecified case in San Diego on Sept. 4, Barnes said. A DNA sample was taken from Yucas and it matched the DNA evidence in the Orange County attacks, Barnes said.

Yucas, who was a pilot in the military, works for Kalitta Air and was returning from a trip abroad when he was arrested Sept. 16 at the airport in Anchorage, Alaska, Barnes said.

"This is a very significant case that had unfolded rapidly over the last several days."

- Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes told reporters at a news conference last month.   

Yucas had the same method of operation in each attack -- grabbing a woman on the hiking trail, choking her into unconsciousness, then sexually assaulting her, Barnes alleged.

Yucas lived in Aliso Viejo from 2017 through 2019, Barnes said.

"He moved from Aliso Viejo to Cathedral City," said OC District Attorney Todd Spitzer.

News Channel 3 checked with the Riverside County District Attorney's office at the time of the arrest. A spokesperson confirmed, "I can tell you that there are no active criminal cases in Riverside County on anyone with that name."

News Channel 3 interviewed Yucas ahead of the September 11th anniversary. An image from that interview was used in the news conference. "That is the best picture we have of him," of what he looks like presently, said the District Attorney.

The sheriff and Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said they suspect there are more victims and asked anyone with information to call a tip line at 714-647-7419. Anonymous tips are also still welcome through Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS.

"Sexual predators do not stop on their own,'' Spitzer said. "They only stop because law enforcement ... stops them.''

Sheriff's officials launched media campaigns to help catch a suspect last year, and last month, they released composite sketches, but the suspect was still "brazen" enough to return to the area to commit more attacks, Spitzer said.

Yucas could spend up to 45 years to life in prison if convicted of all crimes at trial, but because of a new state law granting parole sooner for defendants older than 50, he could qualify for a parole hearing in 19 years post-conviction, Spitzer said.    

Spitzer vowed that his office would continue sending prosecutors to all parole hearings.

Timeline of reported assaults

Authorities said Robert Daniel Yucas, an Army veteran and cargo pilot, is suspected of sexually assaulting a woman last month near Pacific Park Drive and Alicia Parkway, and two other women in January and April of last year in roughly the same area. Here is a timeline, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

• On January 20, 2020, a 24-year-old woman was at Woodfield Park in Aliso Viejo to skateboard when a man later identified as Yucas asked her for directions. While the woman pulled out her phone, Yucas is accused of grabbing the woman in a chokehold and dragging her into the bushes next to the walking path. The woman lost consciousness and woke to find she had been raped.
• On April 2, 2020, a 32-year-old woman was running in Woodfield Park when a man later identified as Yucas grabbed her from behind and put her in a chokehold. Yucas is accused of dragging the woman into the bushes in an attempt to rape her, but the woman managed to fight him off.
• On August 28, 2021, a 41-year-old woman was in Woodfield Park when a man grabbed her and put her in a chokehold. The woman lost consciousness and woke up in the bushes next to a walking path with her pants pulled down.
• An anonymous tip to OC Crime Stoppers led investigators to the September 4, 2021 incident in San Diego that ultimately led to the DNA hit that matched the suspect in that attack to the suspect in the Orange County attacks. The collaboration between law enforcement, including the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and the San Diego, Anchorage, and Cathedral City Police Departments, made this arrest possible.
• On September 20, prosecutors name Yucas as the man responsible. Authorities are asking for anyone with additional information related to Yucas or any additional victims to call the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Sexual Assault Unit at 714-647-7419. Yucas lived in Aliso Viejo prior to moving to Cathedral City in Riverside County and he is known to spend time in San Diego County.

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