A man accused of sexually assaulting a woman while she was sleeping in her Pacific Beach home in early October appeared in court Monday for the first time since his arrest.
Prosecutors say Jeffrey Hanze, 55, broke into the 28-year-old woman's apartment on Chalcedony Street through an open bedroom window at 1:45 a.m. on Oct. 1.
The victim was sleeping at the time of the break-in and woke up as she was being sexually assaulted, the District Attorney's Office said.
The San Diego Police Department named Hanze as the primary suspect in the case weeks later and released his photo. Nearly a month after the alleged assault, Hanze was arrested by L.A. County deputies in Los Angeles.
The DA's Office said that the incident wasn't the first time Hanze committed a crime similar in nature and asked the judge to double his bail to $1 million, and the judge agreed.
"As a woman, there is nothing more terrifying than the thought of an intruder, a complete stranger, coming into your bedroom in the middle of the night while you're sound asleep and sexually assaulting you," Deputy District Attorney Jessica Koto said.
Koto said the alleged assault appears to be random and that the victim and Hanze did not know each other.
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Hanze has a prior felony burglary conviction, according to the DA's Office. Because of his prior conviction, he faces a maximum sentence of 21 years plus life in prison if convicted on sex assault and burglary charges.
