MOUNTAIN VIEW — A barber charged with serially drugging and sexually assaulting more than 20 men — with authorities suspecting potentially twice as many unreported victims — is now in a South Bay jail following his extradition from Guatemala after a year on the lam, according to authorities.
Franklin Enrique Sarceno Orla, 35, of Mountain View, has been extradited from Guatemala after authorities say he skipped bail and fled the area after being charged in 2024 with sexually assaulting unconscious men who were drugged or kidnapped in Mountain View. (Santa Clara Co. District Attorney’s Office)
Franklin Enrique Sarceno Orla, 35, is being held without bail after being booked Friday in the Elmwood men’s jail in Milpitas, records show. He faces more than 40 criminal charges, mostly felonies, accusing him of sexual assaulting, drugging and kidnapping men between 2018 and 2024.
After Sarceno Orla was first arrested and charged in August 2024 with assaulting two men, he posted $250,000 bail and was a no-show at an Oct. 29 court hearing. Authorities, led by Mountain View police and the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, later determined that he had fled the area.
Police said Sarceno Orla arrived in the Bay Area on Thursday followings months of negotiations and coordination between local law enforcement, the U.S. Marshals service, the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Department of Justice and Guatemalan authorities.
The charged assaults cover a timeline spanning January 2018 to July 2024, which was shortly before he was arrested. According to prosecutors and Mountain View police, Sarceno Orla drew attention from law enforcement after a man told police that he woke up injured and woozy after having drinks with the defendant in July 2024.
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Authorities said forensic testing confirmed that the man had been sexually assaulted, and investigators uncovered evidence indicating the victim was taken to another location. That same investigation turned up evidence of another victim who would tell police that he lost consciousness while drinking beers in February with Sarceno Orla, who he identified as his barber operating out of his own home.
Additionally, an examination of Sarceno Orla’s electronic devices turned up evidence suggesting he assaulted at least 20 men dating back to 2018 and that he recorded video of some of the acts.
As a result of publicity of the case last November, more people reported assaults by the defendant, dramatically increasing the number of crimes charged against Sarceno Orla. The felony counts cover accusations that he drugged and assaulted unconscious victims, and several charges are accompanied by allegations that he knowingly exposed victims to HIV.
The next court date in the case, presumably an arraignment on the additional charges filed while Sarceno Orla was a fugitive, was still pending as of Friday.
