SLO County barber pleads not guilty to rape, sex crime against a minor
An Atascadero business owner pleaded not guilty to two sex crimes at his arraignment on Friday, following his arrest the day before.
Nathan “Nate” Abate, 34, was arrested and charged with oral copulation with a person under 18 years and rape of an intoxicated person on Thursday. His bail was set at $500,000, which he posted Friday morning.
The alleged crimes occurred against two separate victims between August 2008 and December 2010, according to court documents.
The San Luis Obispo Police Department and San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office began investigating Abate and Julian Contreras, former owner of Kin Coffee in downtown San Luis Obispo, in April 2022 after several criminal allegations came to light on social media.
The Sheriff’s Office currently has a warrant out for Contreras’ arrest on suspicion of sex crimes relating to the investigation, but has not been able to locate him.
Abate attended his arraignment with a blond woman, who held his hand the entire time. He sat in the gallery in a green jacket and brown pants.
San Luis Obispo County Deputy District Attorney Kristin Bernard asked San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Barry LaBarbera to modify Abate’s bail conditions to prohibit him from being alone with minors and subject him to search.
Bernard was filling in for San Luis Obispo County Deputy District Attorney Lisa Muscari, who will be prosecuting the case.
Abate’s lawyer, Scott Taylor, argued against the bail conditions, saying that the allegations were over a decade old.
The judge said he would decide bail conditions at Abate’s pre-preliminary hearing on Feb. 9.
More than 30 women shared storied of sexual asssault
Former San Luis Obispo resident Ash Riddell sparked a local #MeToo movement in April when she accused Abate and Contreras of assaulting her.
Since then, more than 30 women have come forward on social media with similar stories of sexual assault or harassment by the two men sometime between 2008 and 2021.
In August, the SLO Police Department told The Tribune that the agency’s investigation was inactive because the majority of reported incidents occurred outside of its jurisdiction. Those that did occur within the agency’s jurisdiction did not have enough evidence to pursue, the department said.
The Sheriff’s Office sent its investigation to the District Attorney’s Office in early December, recommending charges for both men based on allegations from six women.
This story was originally published January 20, 2023 at 9:38 AM.
