Authorities Seek Help in Finding Suspects in Assaults Against Children
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Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas on Thursday announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a man suspected of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl on her way home from school in South Los Angeles on June 12.
“We must send a message that rape cannot be taken lightly,” Ridley-Thomas said, in announcing the reward on behalf of the City Council.
Los Angeles police said the man approached the girl after she left Bret Harte Preparatory Intermediate School, at 93rd and Hoover streets, about 1 p.m. He used a knife to force her into a vacant house, where the attack occurred.
Authorities said they believe that the suspect was involved in two other cases when young girls were confronted after leaving the school, one on July 10 and the other in March. In each case, the girls were able to escape.
Police patrols have been beefed up near the campus, department officials
said.
A spokesman for the LAPD’s Southeast Division described the suspect as black, about 35, between 5-foot-9 and 5-11, 160 pounds and with a gap between his upper front teeth.
On Thursday, authorities appealed to anyone with information about the incidents to call detectives at (213) 485-6902.
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