Staff of a South Whittier grocery retailer helped cease the tried sexual assault of a teen lady Sunday, ensuing within the arrest of a 39-year-old man, authorities stated.
The incident was reported round 2 p.m. at a Stater Bros. retailer within the unincorporated neighborhood, in accordance with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Division.
The suspect allegedly adopted a 16-year-old lady into the shop’s toilet, locked the door and tried to assault her.
The lady screamed, alerting different clients and staff who made their means into the lavatory and held the suspect till deputies arrived to arrest him.
The lady was handled for accidents at a hospital.
The suspect, recognized by the Los Angeles County district lawyer’s workplace as Steven Magdaleno, 38, was charged Tuesday with felony assault to commit rape, false imprisonment by violence and tried escape from custody in addition to a misdemeanor cost of giving false data to a police officer.
“It’s appalling that somebody tried to sexually assault a 16-year-old lady in the course of the day in a grocery retailer restroom,” Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón stated in a launch. “Brazen crimes like these are surprising to all the neighborhood as a result of the lady and her household ought to have felt protected in that house.”
Gascón recommended the actions of staff and clients for exhibiting bravery and braveness.
“I need to encourage anybody who has been sexually assaulted to report these crimes and get the assistance they should heal from this devastating trauma,” Gascón stated.
The Sheriff’s Division requested for the general public’s assist in figuring out attainable extra victims of the suspect.
The division’s Particular Victims Bureau might be reached at (877) 710-5273 or specialvictimsbureau@lasd.org.
