Video Emerges Of Suspect Police Say Sexually Assaulted Teen While She Walked With Friends
MANHATTAN BEACH (CBSLA) -- Video has emerged of a suspect police say sexually assaulted a teen walking with two friends in Manhattan Beach last Friday.
KCAL9's Laurie Perez spoke to locals who are eager to have the suspect behind bars.
The video shows some of what happened after the three girls say they left a Vons and headed around the corner to Valley Drive.
Police got the video from a home-security camera and are hoping other homeowners have footage that can help them fill in the blanks.
"They walk right past his vehicle not knowing that he's sitting there waiting for them," says Sgt. Tim Zins of the Manhattan Beach Police Department.
The video shows what happened just before and right after the violent encounter between the suspect they are calling a sexual predator and the unsuspecting teens.
What the video doesn't show, police said, is terrifying.
"Right now, the suspect is attacking the girls, one girl specifically is being attacked and another girl is fighting him off while the third girl is flagging down that car that just went by."
A home near Valley Drive and Second Place captured images of the man who was waiting for the girl's in an alley, lying in wait. Moments before, the teens had hid out in the grocery store after spotting the suspect in a lewd act in his car in the parking lot.
"We're gonna see the three victims running by here, fleeing from the suspect. There goes the suspect back to his car, and then he will come out and he will leave," Zins said.
The video doesn't show two things: the man's face or his license plate.
But police hope it shows enough for someone to recognize something that can lead to the suspect.
The man drove a black sedan with Uber stickers in the front and the back passenger-side windows.
An area resident who didn't want to give her name is among those checking their security systems from Friday between 9 and 10 p.m. They want to see if they captured anything that could help police.
"That's the best thing about this community," the woman said. " It really is a community and when things like this happen everyone comes out and says what they saw and our eyes and ears are always open."