Authorities provided additional details on Friday about the suspect in a brazen sexual assault that occurred in a South El Monte park in hopes members of the public will come forward with identifying information about the man.
A composite sketch, right, and surveillance video showing the suspect in a sexual assault in a South El Monte park were released on July 28, 2017, by Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials.
Officials also released new surveillance video showing the moments leading up to the violent assault, as well as the alleged perpetrator fleeing on his bike following the June 1 incident.
The unidentified man approached the woman as she was jogging in the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area at 500 Durfee Ave. around 5:30 p.m. that day, according to Lt. Todd Deeds with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The victim had been running with a group of people but had become separated from the pack, Deeds said.
That’s when the man approached her from behind on a black mountain bike. In the video released Friday the man is seen biking up alongside the woman and appears to attempt to block her path.
After a few brief moments of undetailed conversation, the man violently grabbed a hold of her and dragged her down a hillside, according to Deeds. The video footage shows him struggling with the woman as he wraps his arms around her and pulls into the bushes.
The victim was sexually assaulted for 10 minutes before she was able to free herself and call for help, Deeds said.
The suspect, meanwhile, ran back to the pathway where he’d left his bike, mounted it and fled. Video of him fleeing the scene was captured by a camera on a city of Whittier water tower, Deeds said.
Investigators believe it was an opportunistic crime and that the predator had not been previously targeting the victim.
“All we can think of is that the guy is just a predator,” Deeds said. “He’s a very dangerous individual. That’s why we need to identify him as soon as possible, because he needs to be locked up.”
The victim has been recovering well and is “very motivated to see justice served in her case,” he added.
The city’s parks and recreation officials contacted several homeless individuals who live around the park area, but none were able to identify the man, according to Deeds. The local officials have also been canvassing the park to warn others of the events that transpired.
“We’ve been investigating the case very diligently and our detectives with the special victims bureau have been working very hard to try to identify other sexual predators or sex offenders in the area, and we have not identified any,” Deeds said.
A similar sexual assault of a jogger occurred the same day at Lake Balboa Park in Van Nuys, but detectives do not believe the two incidents are related.
The suspect in the Whittier Narrows case is described as a Latino man in his mid-20s who measures about 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs around 175 pounds. He spoke Spanish and had a teardrop tattoo under his left eye, but was otherwise clean-shaven.
A $10,000 reward
L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis
from KTLA http://ift.tt/2eTXb4U
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