Child Sexually Assaulted Her Bedroom by Intruder as Parents Slept: Police

A 35-year-old man named Marcos Maldonado was apprehended this week after he purportedly trespassed into a California house and sexually traumatized a 12-year-old girl for hours, in her room while her parents were sleeping. He threatened to murder the minor if she made any noise, local police stated. Maldonado was arrested on Thursday and is accused with one count of aggravated sexual assault of a minor, confirmed by the Culver City Police Department (CCPD) in an email received on Saturday.

The suspect was recognized and apprehended on the Interstate 5 Freeway through genetic evidence when he was en route towards Bakersfield, California, after exiting a downtown Los Angeles hotel, and boarding a bus. Jennifer Atenza, a spokesperson for the CCPD disclosed that Maldonado was dwelling at a hotel in downtown Los Angeles prior to his detention and it is undecided his primary place of residence.

Over a month prior to his arrest, CCPD received a report about a sexual assault and intrusion at a home in the Blair Hills area of Culver City, California, which is situated about 10 miles west of Los Angeles. Officers rushed to the location on December 2, 2023, at approximately 7:45 a.m. The victim, a 12-year-old girl, and her parents claimed that a man, later identified as Maldonado, had trespassed into the house and committed a "sexual assault" on the minor before absconding from the premises on foot several hours afterward, an online statement by the police mentioned. Despite video footage showing the suspect's departure from the location, Maldonado successfully evaded law enforcement until Thursday.

CCPD in their statement made it known that from the day this crime happened, detectives have been working relentlessly to identify and locate the involved suspect. Investigation uncovered that Maldonado had gained entry into the house via an unlocked balcony door sometime between 2 and 3 a.m. He then proceeded to assault the girl in her room and made his exit around 7 a.m. through the front door. Immediately after awakening her parents that morning, the victim urged them to contact 911. This incident was relayed by the victim's mother, Alexis, to local station KTLA trying to shield the family's identity using only her first name. According to Alexis, Maldonado convinced her daughter that a shooter was lurking outside her window and threatened to murder her if she screamed.

Alexis urged local communities to maintain vigilance stating, "The safe neighborhoods apparently aren't that safe either." She suggested parents should establish regular communication with their kids and neighbors. The child's father, Barry, speculated that Maldonado was observing the family before trespassing into their home while they slept to assault his daughter. He added that Maldonado likely broke in through the back balcony that led into the grandparent's bedroom, which was left unlocked. Atenza refrained from providing more details given the intense nature of the crime but clarified that there wasn't any previous connection between the victim and the suspect, an investigation is still ongoing, and that the police are on the lookout for other potential victims. The Culver City community is thanked for their continual assistance and the CCPD is now determined to ensure justice is served for the victim through successful prosecution of the suspect. Maldonado is being detained in CCPD jail with a bond of $1.25 million and is due for arraignment on Monday. Newsweek remains committed to challenging conventional wisdom and fostering connections in the pursuit of common ground.