Suspect held in Palo Alto acquaintance rape

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Here's KTVU crime reporter Henry Lee's Rap Sheet blog for July 5, 2016:

SUSPECT HELD IN ACQUAINTANCE RAPE: A man was arrested today for allegedly raping an acquaintance at his home, Palo Alto police said.

Yue Zhou, 27, of Palo Alto was booked at Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of rape by force, sexual battery and false imprisonment, all felonies. He is being held without bail.

The investigation began about 7:30 p.m. Saturday when Palo Alto police were notified that a woman had been assaulted inside a private home the night before.

The alleged victim, a woman in her 20s, said she had gone to dinner with Zhou and other acquaintances on Friday and dropped him off at his home.

"When she commented that she was tired, he invited her inside to have a glass of water and rest," police said. "When she agreed and went inside his home, he forcibly raped her. After the assault, he prevented her from leaving by holding a knife while telling her she could not go. After several hours had passed, the victim was able to get out of the home and drive away."

Zhou was arrested today without incident at his home.

"PIERCING PAGODA" MALL BURGLAR SENTENCED: A man has been convicted on charges that he pried open a jewelry store kiosk at a San Bruno mall and made off with jewelry and cash.

Victory Niduaza Mangawang, 40, of South San Francisco was caught on surveillance video breaking into the "Piercing Pagoda" kiosk at The Shops at Tanforan mall in San Bruno about 11 p.m. March 21.

He pried open display cases at the kiosk and stole more than $40,000 in jewelry and money, authorities said.

A mall security officer spotted Mangawang the next day at the mall and realized that he looked like the person in the surveillance video.

San Bruno police were called in, and and officers showed the surveillance footage to Mangawang, who "agreed it was him," according to San Mateo County prosecutors.

Officers searched him and found "numerous pieces of jewelry stolen from the Piercing Pagoda," authorities said. "He was also wearing a fur cap identical to that worn by the burglar in the surveillance photo."

What's more, police found receipts from a pawn shop for jewelry stolen in the burglary. 

Mangawang pleaded no contest in April to felony grand theft. He was sentenced to three years of probation and two months in county jail, with credit for time served.

CONVICTION IN TRADE SECRETS CASE UPHELD: A divided federal appeals court today upheld the conviction of a former search-firm executive on charges that he stole trade secrets by getting former co-workers to start a competing firm.

David Nosal, a former managing director at Korn/Ferry International in Redwood City, was sentenced to a year in federal prison after being convicted of six felony charges by a federal jury in 2013.

Prosecutors said Nosal left Korn/Ferry in 2004 and got several employees to use their computer access to obtain customer lists and other secret information, which he used in his new business, Nosal Partners in San Francisco.

Nosal was convicted of charges that included computer fraud and unauthorized downloading of trade secrets.

In his appeal, Nosal argued that he should not have been prosecuted for what amounted to password sharing.

In his dissent, Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal sided with Nosal, saying the case could in theory "make the millions of people who engage in this ubiquitous, useful, and generally harmless conduct into unwitting federal criminals."

But writing for the majority, Judge Margaret McKeown said Reinhardt and Nosal's view "would have us ignore common sense" and would allow criminals to escape criminal liability if they found employees who were willing to "willy nilly give out passwords.

You can see Henry Lee daily on KTVU. If you have a tip for Henry, send an email to Henry.Lee@foxtv.com or contact him on Twitter