IRVINE, Calif. - A Los Angeles man has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman in the elevator of an Irvine storage facility, according to the Irvine Police Department.
Rafael Cortez, 26, was arrested Sunday for suspicion of felony sexual battery. Cortez's arrest comes after an investigation that goes back to late June.
On June 25, officers responded to calls for a sexual assault at the Extra Storage on Shield. When officers got there, a female victim told them that as she got on the elevator, a man who was exiting the elevator changed course and re-entered the elevator. After the doors had closed, she said, the man grabbed her chest and hit her multiple times, leaving visible injuries, according to Irvine PD.
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She was able to push the man away and run away when the elevator reached the first floor. The man then ran into a parked moving truck and drove away.
Cortez was arrested for the assault Sunday and booked for felony sexual battery, assault and battery, and false imprisonment. He's being held at the Orange County Jail.
Police are still investigating this attack. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 949-724-7244.