Gascón's office reviewing charges for man seen attacking woman on Long Beach sidewalk
LONG BEACH, Calif. - The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office is reviewing its decision to charge a man accused of attacking a woman in broad daylight on a Long Beach sidewalk with only a misdemeanor, after it received new information from Long Beach prosecutors.
Rebekkah Pederson said she tries "not to live in fear, but I check my back ten times more than I ever did."
That's because on Oct. 20, Pederson was walking down the sidewalk near Linden Avenue and East Broadway, when a man grabbed her from behind. The interaction was caught on security footage.
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"I just feel him up on me, and my dress just goes completely up," Pederson said. "And I just felt him press himself against me, and it wasn't 'til afterward that I realized his pants were down. His thing touched me and I just went to the ground right after."
On Tuesday, the LA County DA's Office announced their charges against the suspect, Miguel Angel Avila Figueroa, lesser charges than prosecutors in Long Beach recommended.
When he first filed the case, Long Beach Prosecutor Doug Haubert asked the DA's office to elevate Figueroa's case to a felony, because, as he put it, only District Attorney George Gascón can do that.
"I think this is an egregious case," Haubert said. "I think the conduct warrants felony-level filing. From the moment we got it we believed it was felony level conduct."
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But the DA's office rejected that request, settling on misdemeanor counts of sexual battery and vandalism.
Haubert said his office then sent the case back to the DA's office to look at it one more time.
Pederson was upset with Gascón's decision.
"Did this man not see any of the footage," she asked. "I'm more angry than anything."
Haubert said that Figueroa has a criminal history, and that the DA should take that into consideration as his office reviews the case.
In a statement to FOX 11, Gascón's office said "We received a correspondence from the Long Beach City Prosecutor, sharing his opinion on the matter. The case was carefully reviewed previously; however, based on additional information, the head deputy of our Sex Crimes Division will review the evidence and interview a witness that was located after our initial decision was made to determine whether any felony charges are provable."
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Nov. 8 in Long Beach.
More information on the pending case can be found here.
Are you or someone you know a recent survivor of sexual assault? Help is available. Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) provides a 24/7 national sexual assault hotline, which can be reached at 1-800-656-4673.