Authorities release rape suspect from N.C. jail

AUGUSTA - Richmond County investigators learned that a 19-year-old rape suspect was released from a North Carolina jail on Wednesday. <br> <br> Aaron LeBlanc was released on $100,000 bond, according to Gastonia, N.C. authorities. LeBlanc was arrested earlier this week and faces a first-degree rape charge after police said his 24-year-old neighbor was attacked in her Gaston County apartment. <br> <br> On Feb. 21, a Richmond County Superior Court jury found LeBlanc innocent of nine charges in the sexual assaults of three teen-age girls in Augusta. <br> <br> A jury heard the case six months after LeBlanc pleaded guilty to the Georgia rapes as part of a plea bargain that would have had him serve a 20-year prison sentence. A judge rejected the deal, calling the sentence too lenient. <br> <br> Richmond County Sheriff Investigator Trey Schneider met with three of LeBlanc&#39;s accusers Wednesday night. He said officers would monitor their homes and would provide additional security if needed. <br> <br> ``We told them we&#39;re not going to feel safe, regardless,&#39;&#39; Mary Elena Aceves told the Augusta Chronicle on Wednesday. <br> <br> It was uncertain if LeBlanc was returning to Augusta. <br> <br> Aceves said she didn&#39;t find out LeBlanc was accused of raping two other women until May 2000. Those alleged assaults on Nov. 22, 1999, and May 30, 2000 occurred while LeBlanc was free on bond in her May 1999 case. <br> <br> ``Now there&#39;s a number 4. That&#39;s so sad,&#39;&#39; she said.

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