The local man who accepted a plea deal in a rape case had his sentence hearing moved to Thursday of this week.
Sexual assault assailant Cory D. Daugherty has accepted a plea bargain and will face an indicated penalty of up to nine years in prison, according to court records and his attorney.
His sentence hearing was initially scheduled for Jan. 3 but was moved to 9 a.m. Thursday in courtroom 3 of the San Benito County Courthouse before Judge Steven Sanders.
Court records indicated Daugherty entered a no-contest plea, and his attorney confirmed it’s part of a plea agreement in which the suspect accepted no-contest pleas on felony charges.
Attorney Arthur Cantu confirmed Daugherty, 31, accepted a no-contest plea for attempted rape, a prior strike and a prior prison term. It all amounted to a total of nine years in state prison.
Daugherty was previously charged by prosecutors on suspicion of attempted murder, rape, assault with great injury and false imprisonment.
In late 2017, a victim checked into Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital and reported being sexually assaulted in downtown. Hollister police detectives isolated pertinent footage from the event from the downtown surveillance system. The pictures were released to the public on Jan. 11 with a request for assistance in identifying the suspect. Police obtained an arrest warrant and took Daugherty into custody Jan. 18.
Daugherty, who had a warrant issued for his arrest, was located and arrested in Santa Clara County.
