Suspect who sexually assaulted two girls near Long Beach bus stops arrested

Police arrested a man who allegedly sexually assaulted two girls at different bus stops in Long Beach on Thursday. 

Officers were first called to the intersection of Carson Street and Atlantic Avenue at around 10:15 a.m. after learning of a girl that had been sexually assaulted after getting off a bus in the area, according to the Long Beach Police Department. 

They learned that the girl and the man were both on the bus and got off at the same stop. Shortly after, a "brief verbal exchange" happened and the man "proceeded to sexually batter the victim," police said. 

Less than an hour later, a little before 11 a.m, the suspect is then said to have approached another girl on a bus near Artesia Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue, LBPD said. 

He allegedly followed her off the bus before sexually battering her as well, according to police. 

Late Friday, officers reported that the man, identified as 21-year-old homeless man George Marquez, had been taken into custody. He was booked on suspicion of attempted rape and penetration with a foreign object, on top of two warrants for terrorizing a victim and inflicting fear and battery. 

He is being held in lieu of $242,000 bail. 

Investigators have described the man, who they believe is in his early 20s, as standing around 5-foot-8 and weighing about 180 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes as well as several small tattoos on his forearms. 

Anyone with further information is urged to contact LBPD at (562) 570-7368.