Nov 6, 2009 12:50 pm US/Pacific
Police Search For Westlake Sexual Predator
WESTLAKE (CBS) ―
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Police say this is the most recent description of a sexual predator who has been preying on 9- and 10-year-old girls in the Westlake district.
CBS
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Police were searching Friday for a sexual assault suspect who has been preying on 9- and 10-year-old girls in the Westlake district.
CBS
Police were searching Friday for a sexual assault suspect who has been preying on 9- and 10-year-old girls in the Westlake district.
The suspect is described as Hispanic, 25- to 45-years-old, with black hair and brown eyes. He is between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs about 150 to 170 pounds.
Police believe the man has been active for more than a year and has approached at least four victims in that time period. His method appears to be the same every time.
He approaches young girls early in the morning, girls who are walking alone, engaging them in conversation and "enticing them into apartment buildings and sexually assaulting them," according to a Los Angeles Police Department press release.
The most recent incident, which involved a 10-year-old girl, occurred around 7:20 a.m. Wednesday, police said. The youngster was heading to school near Beverly Boulevard and Commonwealth Avenue when she was approached by the suspect, police said.
He reportedly engaged her in friendly conversation, then lured her into an apartment building in the 100 block of South Commonwealth Avenue, where he allegedly took the girl up to the roof area and tried to sexually assault her.
"The girl begged the suspect to stop his advances and repeatedly pushed him away," police said in a statement.
"It is believed that the victim's persistent actions caused the suspect to stop and leave the location."
Images of the suspect, who gained access to the building by waiting for someone to exit, were captured on an apartment complex video surveillance system. Those images show the suspect walking with the victim and then later running alone northbound on Commonwealth Avenue, police said.
On July 10, the suspect approached a 10-year-old girl walking near Third and Hoover streets around 7 a.m. and drew her into an apartment building, police said.
The suspect allegedly took the girl onto the roof, but something may have startled him into fleeing the scene and leaving the victim behind.
Images of the suspect were again captured on an apartment complex video surveillance system. This time, the images show him walking and talking with the victim as they approached the building, then later running out of the
complex.
Police believe the same man is responsible for two other crimes that occurred last year.
One incident occurred around 7:30 a.m. on April 30, 2008 in the 600 block of South Burlington Avenue, near Sixth Street, police said.
The same suspect allegedly approached an 8-year-old girl and led her into a nearby apartment building where he tried to sexually assault her.
In the other incident, the suspect approached a 9-year-old girl walking near James M. Wood Boulevard and Hoover Street about 7 a.m. on Feb. 29, 2008.
After talking with her, he allegedly pulled her into an apartment building in the 2700 block of James M. Wood Boulevard, near Hoover Street, and attempted to sexually assault her, police said.
Anyone with information about the suspect, or additional victims and witnesses, can call Robbery-Homicide Division, Special Assaults Section at (213) 485-2921 or (877) LAPD-24-7.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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