A laborer recently charged with raping two women in Richmond and Chesterfield County is the head deacon of the Richmond Evangelistic Center of Seventh-day Adventist at 5300 Walmsley Blvd., church members say.
The church's pastor and the pastor's wife believe the arrest of Oscar A. Rivera-Licona, 34, is a case of mistaken identity. Rivera-Licona has been charged with multiple counts of rape, abduction, robbery and felony gun charges.
"He's a very active member of the church, has always served the people and he works close to my husband," said Rosa Olivera, wife of the church's pastor, Luis Linan-Olivera. "He was very careful with the people, and we don't feel like he's a criminal. We strongly believe that there is another person" responsible for the crimes.
But Chesterfield police Capt. Robert Skowron said investigators have DNA evidence linking Rivera-Licona to the armed abduction and rape of a young woman Nov. 14 in the Chesterfield Village Apartments.
In that case, police said, a man approached the victim, in her early 20s, as she left her vehicle on Belasco Drive about 11:15 p.m. He displayed a gun and forced the woman into a wooded area, where he attacked her, police said.
Chesterfield authorities charged Rivera-Licona on April 23, 13 days after Richmond police charged him in the March 24 rape of a woman in the 2200 block of Ingram Avenue. Assistant Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Cynthia Mikland, who is prosecuting the case, couldn't be immediately reached for details about that offense.
In the Richmond case, Rivera-Licona has been charged with rape, abduction, robbery of a residence and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, records show.
Rosa Olivera said she and her husband have known Rivera-Licona for more than five years and that he came here from Honduras with two brothers after their father was murdered by some young delinquents he was trying to help.
"They came here because they fear for their life," Olivera said. "When he was in Honduras, they were trying to kill them also. The day before he was arrested, I was talking to him at the church and he was telling me all the horrible things that happened to his family."
Rivera-Licona has a wife and child in Honduras and has worked as a laborer since arriving here, Olivera said.
As head deacon, Rivera-Licona greeted congregation members as they arrived for Saturday services and oversaw the church's maintenance needs.
The church's pastor was in Italy this week and wasn't immediately available for comment, his wife said.
Rivera-Licona's most recent address was the 2100 block of Treemont Court in Richmond. He is scheduled to appear in court May 19 on the Richmond charges and June 17 on the Chesterfield charges.
Contact Mark Bowes at (804) 649-6450 or mbowes@timesdispatch.com.
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