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Arrests of rape suspect, alleged fake cop
Authorities are asking for the public's help in finding additional victims possibly targeted by a Culver City rape suspect and a second man accused of impersonating a cop and committing sexual battery in Long Beach.
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Authorities asked for the public's help Tuesday in identifying any other alleged victims of a man arrested in connection with the rape and sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl in her Culver City home and a man charged in a separate case in which he is accused of impersonating a police officer, sexually battering a woman in her car and robbing her in Long Beach.
"We believe that given their history, both of them may have additional victims out there," Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón told reporters at a news conference Tuesday.
Kern County resident Marcos C. Maldonado, 35, was charged Monday with two felony counts each of rape of a child victim under 14 and sexual penetration by use of force on a victim under 14, along with one count of sodomy by use of force on a victim under 14 involving the alleged attack Dec. 2 on the girl.
The complaint alleges he committed the offenses during the commission of a burglary and that he "engaged in the tying or binding of the victim or another person."
Culver City Police Chief Jason Sims said, "We do not believe that Maldonado, the suspect in this case, had any prior contact with the family prior to this crime. We believe he entered the residence through an unlocked sliding door."
It is unclear how many hours Maldonado was allegedly inside the home, the district attorney said, adding that the defendant allegedly went into the house in the early morning hours and that authorities believe he left at about 7 a.m. after telling the girl there was a man with a gun outside the home and that her family would be killed if she reported what occurred.
DNA evidence helped to link Maldonado to the "disturbing and tragic sexual assault," and he was arrested last week on the Golden State (5) Freeway after leaving a downtown Los Angeles hotel and boarding a bus that was heading for Bakersfield, according to the Culver City police chief.
"While we have no reports of additional crimes of this nature in the Culver City area, we are collaborating with other law enforcement agencies to identify any additional victims," Sims said.
Maldonado "does have a prior felony conviction and a criminal history, but no prior sex crime convictions," according to the police chief.
The district attorney said Maldonado has been arrested multiple times in Kern County, saying "there are some incidents that he was arrested and the cases were not filed for sexually related conduct so we believe that this may be a pattern ..."
Maldonado pleaded not guilty Monday to the five felony counts and remains jailed while awaiting his next court appearance Feb. 15.
Maldonado could face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted as charged, according to Gascón.
In a separate case, Martin Lopez, 55, of Los Angeles, is accused in a Dec. 27 attack on a woman who was confronted by a man claiming to be a police officer while walking to her car in Long Beach, the district attorney said.
"He ordered her to open her car door and sit in the passenger seat and she complied, believing him to be a real police officer," Gascón said, telling reporters that the assailant allegedly demanded the woman's wallet, phone and purse and allegedly displayed what the woman believed to be a handgun when she tried to stand up.
The suspect drove away after a good Samaritan intervened, according to the district attorney, who said police are attempting to find that person.
Lopez was arrested Jan. 4 after detectives spotted him driving in Long Beach, said Don Mauk, Long Beach Police Department's Deputy Chief of Investigations.
Handcuffs and a fake badge were recovered when two search warrants were subsequently served, Mauk said. He described Lopez as having an "extensive criminal history for violent felonies."
The deputy chief noted that a second alleged victim in Los Angeles has also been identified, telling City News Service that Lopez allegedly "identified himself as a police officer and then committed a different type of crime -- a financial type of crime."
Lopez is set to be arraigned Jan. 24 on one felony count each of sexual battery by restraint, second-degree robbery and attempted kidnapping to commit another crime involving the alleged attack in Long Beach.
The criminal complaint alleges that Lopez has convictions from 1996 for kidnapping and robbery and from 2008 for assault with a deadly weapon and robbery.