Fort Worth bar owner indicted in rape of passed-out woman that was caught on video

An owner of The Library Bar was indicted Friday on a sexual assault charge in the alleged raped of a passed-out woman inside his business.

If convicted of the second-degree felony, Israel Espiricueta, 41, faces two to 20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.

The woman reported the sexual assault to Fort Worth police on Christmas Eve.

She told investigators she'd been drinking at the bar after-hours with bar employees and remembered only snippets of Espiricueta later driving her to a hotel and having sex with her, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

But surveillance video seized by detectives showed the sexual encounter had begun at the bar, the affidavit states, with the owner positioning the apparently unconscious woman across the bar to have sex with her.

Espiricueta, who lives in Austin, has been free on a $10,000 bond since his arrest in early February.

Jeff Kearney, Espiricueta's attorney, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Deanna Boyd: 817-390-7655, @deannaboyd

This story was originally published June 8, 2018 at 2:20 PM with the headline "Fort Worth bar owner indicted in rape of passed-out woman that was caught on video."