Category Archives: Rape

Detectives: 2nd victim in disabled sexual assaults probe identified

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From the Associated Press:

LOS ANGELES — A second alleged victim has come forward in the investigation into videotaped sexual assaults of severely disabled women, authorities said.
The 27-year-old woman recognized one of the suspects, Ernie Lloyd, in news coverage, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement Friday.
The woman said another suspect, Bert Hicks, sexually assaulted her multiple times between 2007 and 2009 when she lived in a housing facility he operated.
Sheriff’s officials also said Friday that they served search warrants at three residences as part of the ongoing investigation, it was reported.
Details of the warrants were not released.
Another woman came forward Monday and said she was assaulted by Lloyd a few years ago at a residential care facility in Los Angeles where they both previously lived.
Sheriff’s officials say she has physical disabilities that leave her defenseless.
Lloyd was arrested Jan. 8 after surrendering to police.
At least 10 victims appeared in more than 100 hours of video that a man anonymously delivered to sheriff’s headquarters in Monterey Park last March.
But prosecutors said the videos alone are not sufficient evidence, telling Sheriff’s Department detectives that they need to provide more facts about the women’s medical histories, level of disabilities and other information.
“In order to effect a filing, we would either have to prove that the victim did not consent to the sexual acts or she was unable to consent to the sexual acts,” the district attorney’s office reportedly wrote in a memo. “There is insufficient evidence to prove either of these theories beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The woman who came forward Monday also claimed that Hicks married her and took her back to a care facility where she was sexually assaulted by him and Lloyd, investigators said. Hicks, 42, is serving a sentence at Tehachapi State Prison on two felony sex counts and two abuse counts. He is scheduled to be released next year.
The videos, received in the mail, show men sexually assaulting physically and mentally disabled women, some of them in diapers. Officials said it took months for investigators to digitally enhance the grainy footage and produce pictures and artist sketches of the suspects.
Authorities are still seeking two other men seen on the tapes.

Suspects sought in video taped sexual assaults of disabled women

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MONTEREY PARK — Sheriff’s officials Thursday asked for the public’s help in identifying at least eight man captured on video sexually assaulting 10 “severely disabled” women at what appears to be residential care facilities.
More than 100 hours of disturbing video footage was dropped off anonymously, along with a note, at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Headquarters Bureau in March, Sgt. Dan Scott of the Sheriff’s Special Victims Bureau said. After months of enhancing and examining the grainy video, detectives decided to go public in hopes of developing leads.
It was unclear when or where the assaults took place, Detective Ron Anderson said, however at least one suspect was believed to be a residential care facility employee, and another appeared to be a patient. The victims appeared “severely disabled” to the point they appeared unable to give consent, let alone fend off the attacks.
“These suspects and their activity is so heinous that it shocks the conscience,” Anderson said.
Even after years investigating sex crimes, “When this (footage) came to me, it was really shocking,” the detective added. “We’re supposed to protect the helpless, and these people are truly helpless.”
Investigators have been able to extract images of the faces of four of the suspects and have created composite drawings from them.
The footage contained no time stamps and nothing to indicate where specifically the crimes took place.
“Detectives from the Special Victims Bureau are concerned that these sexual assaults might still be occurring,” Scott said.
An anonymous tipster left 11 DVDs containing the footage at Sheriff’s Headquarters before vanishing, investigators said.
A note left with the DVDs said that the tipster was approached by a man in Los Angeles who asked if he could erase a computer hard drive, Scott said.
Before deleting the data and returning the hard drive, he said, the tipster discovered the disturbing and criminal nature of the files and copied them onto DVDs.
The victims in the assaults appear to be between 20 and 40 years old, Scott said.
“These victims are severely disabled,” he said, adding that many of them were unable to move and wearing diapers.
Though the assaults could have taken place virtually anywhere, Scott said, “We’re assuming it’s local because it was turned in to the sheriff here.”
Decor and items seen in the videos led detectives to believe that the assaults took place within that past three years or so, investigators said.
Some of the images appear to be taken from surveillance cameras, Scott said, while others appear to have been shot with a handheld camera by accomplices to the assaults.
The videos are believed to be related, and not merely a collection of unrelated scenes, because three of the suspects were seen in the same room, assaulting the same patient, Anderson said.
In one video, he said, one of the suspects can be seen letting another one of the suspects into a patients room, giving detectives the impression he is an employee of the facility where the woman was.
In another video, man in a wheelchair and wearing a diaper is seen entering a room and raping a defenseless patient in her bed.
In some of the videos, the women were treated with force and violence in addition to the sexual assaults. One clip, Anderson said, shows suspects throwing a woman back into her wheelchair after assaulting her.
Detectives want to speak with anyone who can identify the suspects or the facilities shown in the videos, and especially the tipster who dropped off the tapes.
“You have already been a great help by giving us the videos, but we need more help to be able to find the victims,” sheriff’s officials said in a written statement targeted at the tipster. The information can be left anonymously through L.A. Crimestoppers.
“We are concerned (the victims) are still being abused and want to find them and ensure they are safe.”
The Sheriff’s Special Victims Bureau can be reached at 866-247-5877, or tips can be left anonymously through Crimestoppers at 800-222-8477.

Maywood cops seek help from Baldwin Park to catch rapist

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But, the Baldwin Park cops haven’t called back. 

Here’s the composites and Ben Baeder’s story:
Police said a man who tried to snatch a 13-year-old girl in Maywood on Tuesday may be the same man who kidnapped and raped a girl in Baldwin Park two weeks ago.

A Latino man with acne scars tried to kidnap a 13-year-old girl at 6:45 a.m. as she was walking to school in Maywood, police said.

The man’s description was similar to one given by a 15-year-old Baldwin Park girl who said she was kidnapped and raped Oct. 12 while she was cutting school.

“This guy kind of matches the guy up there,” said Maywood Police Detective Dale Walker.

The man in the Maywood case was reported as in his mid-30s, 5-feet-11 inches tall and about 170 pounds. The man had dark hair, brown eyes, acne scars and a mole on his right cheek, according to police.

The man in the Baldwin Park case was described as a 5-foot-8 male Latino in his 30s, weighing about 210 pounds with with acne scars, short brown hair and brown eyes.

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Attempts Tuesday to reach the Baldwin Park detectives handling the case were unsuccessful. Maywood detectives so far have been unable to reach Baldwin Park detectives to discuss the case, Walker said.

Pasadena man arrested in rape case

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Nelson Fortenberry thought it would be a good idea to settle an arguement with his ex by raping her, according to police. Here’s the story:

PASADENA – Police arrested a man Thursday night after he allegedly raped a woman he is legally separated from, officials said.

Nelson Fortenberry, 36, of Pasadena was taken into custody around 8:26 p.m., according to Lt. Chris Russ of the Pasadena Police Department.

Fortenberry was visiting a 33-year-old woman in the 1200 block of North Raymond Avenue. Russ did not know the relationship of the couple but said they are legally separated.

An argument ensued between the two and Fortenberry sexually assaulted the woman, Russ said.

 

Sheriff Dept. putting down cases with license plate reader

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There’s a unit of the Sheriff’s Department called Advance Protection and Surveillance. Over the past two years they’ve put some license plate readers in the field and they’ve had some pretty impressive results.
 
The manufacturer of the device, Federal Signal, claims that the department has caught a serial rape suspect and a man suspected in three homicides using the technology.
 
Here’s a portion of a press release from Marketwatch.com:
 
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Recently, the Federal Signal ALPR network has assisted LASD in solving two key cases. A serial rapist in South Los Angeles approached female pedestrians and forced them into his vehicle at gunpoint. A victim obtained a license plate number and provided police with a vehicle description; however, the address for the registered owner of the vehicle was no longer correct. With the help of Federal Signal’s ALPR Back Office System Software (BOSS) by PIPS, investigators pinpointed prior vehicle sightings, which led them to the suspect’s workplace. The employer provided a cell phone number for the suspect, which enabled police to locate the suspect and make an arrest.

 
In another case, a shooting left one victim dead. Witnesses provided police with a partial license plate and vehicle description. A query of this data in the Federal Signal BOSS system provided investigators with a full license plate number which enabled them to identify the suspect. Surveillance was established on the suspect’s address, and the suspect was in custody less than 24-hours after the shooting. The suspect was also wanted in connection with three other homicides.