Worker charged in 2 Pasadena rapes

A Saugus construction worker has been charged with raping two women in Pasadena while wielding a box cutter, prosecutors said today.

Jason Keith Renaux, 29, was charged with multiple counts of rape and oral copulation, with the special allegation that he used a deadly weapon, a box cutter, said Jane Robison, the district attorney’s spokeswoman. Renaux was arrested Saturday.

He allegedly raped a 19-year-old woman on Dec. 27 after picking her up on Colorado Boulevard and driving  her to the 3800 block of East Foothill Boulevard. Robison said the young woman escaped and gave police the suspect's license number.

An investigation led police to a second victim, who said she was attacked in a similar way on Nov. 28, also in Pasadena, Robison said. If convicted, Renaux could be sentenced to life in prison. He is scheduled to appear in a Pasadena courtroom today and is being held in lieu of $1.4-million bail.

-- Richard Winton