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Judge denies adding rape charges in Kristin Smart case

A lawyer for Flores calls the prosecution's attempt to add the rape charges a "publicity stunt."

Credit: AP

FILE - This Tuesday, April 13, 2021, file photo provided by the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office shows suspect Paul Flores who was taken into custody in the San Pedro area of Los Angeles for the murder of Kristin Smart. Flores, the longtime suspect in the 25-year-old disappearance of the California college student, was arrested on suspicion of murder, and his father was booked in jail as an accessory to the crime. Paul Flores, now 44, was the last person seen with Smart on May 25, 1996, at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, where they were both freshmen. Prosecutors said he killed Smart while trying to rape her in his dorm room after he had agreed to walk her home from a party, where she had gotten intoxicated. Her body has never been found. (San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office via AP)

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — A judge has denied a prosecutor's bid to file rape charges against the man accused of killing California college student Kristin Smart, who went missing 25 years ago.

The San Luis Obispo district attorney's office said that on Wednesday it sought to add two rape charges for offenses after Smart disappeared to the complaint filed against Paul Flores in Smart's death. The judge ruled against the DA's motion.

Flores was the last person seen with Smart on May 25, 1996, at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. Her body has never been found.

A lawyer for Flores calls the prosecution's attempt to add the rape charges a "publicity stunt."

For the full AP story, click HERE.

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