LOS ANGELES, CA – An Ojai man who was previously convicted of rape and sodomy by force has pleaded guilty to five additional felony sexual assault charges involving two victims in connection with assaults that occurred in 2018, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
Jaden Joseph Pullen, 28, changed his plea on September 18 in Ventura County Superior Court. Prosecutors said the case involves two victims whom Pullen knew, with the assaults occurring at a home in Ojai that he shared with one of them.
Pullen pleaded guilty to two counts of forcible rape, one count of forcible oral copulation on a minor over 14, one count of oral copulation of a person under 18 and one count of unlawful sexual intercourse. He also admitted an aggravating circumstance involving violent conduct.
He is scheduled to be sentenced November 16 and faces a maximum sentence of 27 years and four months in state prison.
Assaults occurred in Ojai in 2018
The charges stem from sexual assaults that prosecutors say occurred in 2018.
According to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, Pullen knew both victims before the assaults. The incidents occurred at a residence in Ojai that he shared with one of the victims.
The circumstances were not reported to authorities immediately. The two victims came forward in 2020, after Pullen had already been convicted in a separate case involving another victim.
That earlier case resulted in convictions for forcible rape and sodomy by force, according to prosecutors. The current prosecution concerns the two additional victims who subsequently reported the 2018 assaults.
The delayed reporting is an important part of the chronology because the alleged conduct occurred in 2018, while the victims came forward approximately two years later.
The District Attorney’s Office has not publicly provided additional details about why the victims waited to report the assaults or about the specific circumstances of each individual incident.
That means the available official account establishes the timeline and charges without providing a complete narrative of what occurred during each assault.
Pullen pleaded guilty to five felony counts
Pullen’s change of plea resolved the five felony counts in the current case without a trial.
The charges were:
- Two counts of forcible rape
- One count of forcible oral copulation on a minor over 14
- One count of oral copulation of a person under 18
- One count of unlawful sexual intercourse
He also admitted the aggravating circumstance that he engaged in violent conduct.
The charges cover different forms of sexual conduct and, in two counts, specifically involve victims under California’s statutory age thresholds.
California’s criminal statutes separately define and punish offenses involving forcible rape and sexual acts involving minors. The state’s Penal Code provisions governing rape and other sexual offenses place these offenses within the state’s laws concerning sexual assault and crimes against public decency.
The specific counts in Pullen’s plea therefore reflect different alleged acts and the ages of the victims involved rather than a single charge covering the entire case.
One victim was a minor
The District Attorney’s charging information specifically includes forcible oral copulation involving a minor over 14 and oral copulation of a person under 18.
The official announcement does not provide the exact ages of either victim at the time of the assaults.
It does, however, establish that at least one of the victims was a minor, because the charges expressly identify conduct involving a person under California’s statutory age thresholds.
The distinction is legally significant because California has separate offenses addressing sexual conduct involving minors, including unlawful sexual intercourse and certain forms of oral copulation.
The California Legislative Information system provides the state’s current statutory text, allowing the public to review the laws under which criminal charges are filed.
Victims came forward after earlier conviction
The two victims in the current case reported the assaults in 2020, after Pullen was convicted in a separate prosecution involving another victim.
That earlier conviction is part of the background provided by prosecutors, but it is important to distinguish it from the current case.
Pullen’s previous conviction involved forcible rape and sodomy by force, while the September 18 guilty plea concerns the separate allegations involving the two additional victims.
The District Attorney’s Office has described the current victims as additional victims because they were not the victim involved in the earlier conviction.
The sequence also explains why the current case reached court years after the underlying conduct. The assaults were reported in 2020, and the current case remained pending until Pullen changed his plea in September 2026.
Guilty plea avoids a trial
Pullen’s guilty plea means the two victims will not have to testify at a criminal trial concerning the five charges resolved by the plea.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Twyla Atmore, a member of the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office Sexual Assault Unit, prosecuted the case.
The prosecutor said the plea would spare the victims from having to relive the assaults while testifying at trial. That statement reflects the prosecution’s explanation for the significance of the plea and does not provide additional independent details about the victims’ experiences.
The District Attorney’s Office has a dedicated Sexual Assault Unit that handles misdemeanor and felony sexual-assault cases, including cases involving statutory rape, child molestation and other sexual offenses. The office says prosecutors in the unit receive specialized training and are assigned to cases through the criminal process.
What happens next
Pullen is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on November 16, 2026.
Prosecutors say he faces a maximum sentence of 27 years and four months in state prison. That is the maximum identified by the District Attorney’s Office; the sentence ultimately imposed will be determined by the court at the sentencing hearing.
The case can also be followed through the Ventura County Superior Court’s criminal case inquiry system, which allows searches using a defendant’s first and last name or a case number. The court cautions that information available through its online system is not itself the official court record.
The court’s criminal and traffic information page also provides information about criminal hearings and access to case information.
Until sentencing, the case remains active even though Pullen has pleaded guilty. The guilty plea resolves the five felony counts through an admission of guilt, while the court still must determine the sentence.
Victim services available in Ventura County
The case also falls within the broader victim-support system operated by Ventura County.
The District Attorney’s Crime Victims’ Assistance Unit provides assistance to victims as they navigate the criminal justice process, including help with court proceedings, protective orders and restitution-related matters.
The office also operates Victim and Community Services, which includes victim assistance, the Family Justice Center and Safe Harbor multidisciplinary interview centers.
Those services are separate from the prosecution itself. Their role is to help victims navigate the court process and access available support while a criminal case proceeds.
For Pullen’s two victims, the guilty plea means the current prosecution will move directly toward sentencing rather than a trial on the five charges.
Sentencing is scheduled for November
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office announced Pullen’s plea on September 18, four years after the two victims came forward and eight years after the assaults described in the case allegedly occurred.
The prosecution said Pullen was known to both victims and that the assaults occurred at an Ojai residence he shared with one of them.
He has now pleaded guilty to five felony sexual assault offenses and admitted the violent-conduct aggravating circumstance.
His sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 16, 2026, when the court is expected to determine the punishment for the offenses resolved by his guilty plea.
Pullen faces a maximum sentence of 27 years and four months in state prison. The final sentence will be determined by the court.
