Sexual battery, assault charges filed in attack of woman walking with her baby in Brentwood

A man suspected of attacking a woman while she was walking with her newborn baby in Brentwood is now facing sexual battery and assault charges, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said Friday.

Abraham Shily allegedly approached the woman as she was pushing her 1-month-old daughter in a stroller through a residential neighborhood, walking near Gretna Green Way and Mayfield Avenue during the early evening of July 16.

He then "proceeded to sexually and physically assault her," the DA's office said in a statement.

The attack left her with serious injuries, police said.

Shily, 26, has been charged with one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon, one misdemeanor count of sexual battery, one misdemeanor count of child abuse under circumstances or conditions other than great bodily injury or death and one misdemeanor count of false imprisonment.  

The attack happened around 4:30 p.m. when Shily grabbed the victim from behind and "simulated sexual activity" while making physical contact, LAPD said in a news release. 

She tried fighting off the shirtless man and that's when she said the assault turned even more violent.

"I immediately told him to get off, get away," Carmina Lu said a few days after the attack. "I started defending myself, and then at a certain point, he turned and started hitting me in the face."

He struck her in the face multiple times after she hit his face in self-defense, according to police. She was knocked to the ground and left with cuts to her face after her sunglasses broke during the assault. 

Once she fell, he ran towards Montana Avenue, police said. While her attacker remained at large, Lu was left wounded and shaken. She spoke out about how the incident has affected her when prosecutors filed charges weeks later.

"It definitely stays with you," Lu said, describing it as an "eye-opening experience where I've felt a bit more on guard, a bit more anxious, not taking any risks any time soon."

In a statement from his office, LA County DA George Gascón called it a "heinous assault" that should have never happened.

"The allegations against the defendant are deeply disturbing," Gascón said. "No one should have to fear for their safety while simply walking with their child in their own neighborhood."

In the days after the alleged assault, Lu said the West LA community rallied around her. She said people living in the area shared surveillance video from their homes and the images were widely circulated.

"The whole neighborhood has come together," Lu said. "They've shared a lot of video footage. And the fact that this was on the news resulted in somebody identifying the suspect." 

Detectives eventually tracked down Shily following a tip and arrested him two days later.

He was booked on suspicion of felony battery but prosecutors said he has since bailed out.

The DA's office is requesting the court order he be held on $50,000 bail. 

He faces up to nine years in state prison if convicted of all charges. His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 1.  

LAPD continues to investigate the case.