UCLA kidnapping suspect cut loose on bail after arrest

A man arrested on charges of kidnapping two UCLA students and raping another woman in a separate incident has been freed on bail.

Alexander Schecter, 26, of Santa Monica, was accused of trapping two female UCLA students in his car while on campus and threatening them around 3 a.m. on March 8.

Authorities said he stopped near the 500 block of Landfair Avenue and refused to let the students out of the vehicle while making threats. Afraid for their safety, the women stayed inside as he drove roughly half a mile to the 400 block of Gayley Avenue, police said. He was charged with kidnapping and false imprisonment.

After cops investigated, Schecter was taken into custody on March 12 and later released on bail.

Just over a week later, police raided the man’s home and arrested him on charges of raping a woman in October of last year. The victim was attacked between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. near Venice Boulevard and Clarington Avenue, the Los Angeles Times reported.

He was charged with rape by force, forcible oral copulation, robbery, extortion and battery, according to law enforcement. Neither Schecter nor the woman he is accused of raping are affiliated with the university.

On Friday, he was released on $600,000 bond for the October incident. He is next scheduled to appear in court on April 15.

Police believe there may be more victims and are urging anyone with information to come forward.

“It makes dating scary, too. I mean, we’re all so focused as students, and you never know who you’re meeting,” UCLA student Precious King told ABC 7. “You assume it’s another student you’re talking to, but it could be a random person who’s just hanging around campus or trying to stay in the college scene.”

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