Marcos Maldonado mug shot and surveillance video screenshot (Culver City Police Department)
A 35-year-old California man was arrested this week for allegedly breaking into a home and sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in her bedroom while her parents were asleep, threatening to kill the child if she screamed.
Marcos Maldonado was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with one count of aggravated sexual assault of a child, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the Culver City Police Department, officers responded to a residence at about 7:46 a.m. on Dec. 2 in the Blair Hills community of Culver City in regards to a report of a sexual assault. Blair Hills is about 10 miles west of Los Angeles.
Once there, police made contact with the 12-year-old victim and her parents. A man — later identified as Maldonado — allegedly entered the home through an unlocked door, “committed a sexual assault” on the juvenile, and then left the residence on foot, authorities said.
Authorities said they determined the perpetrator entered the home through an unlocked balcony door between 2 and 3 a.m., Los Angeles CW affiliate KTLA reported. He allegedly exited the home at about 7 a.m., using the front door.
The victim’s parents told KNBC that their daughter woke them up that morning and immediately told them they needed to call 911.
“She came to wake me up and just straight out said, ‘Mom, I need to call the police,”” the victim’s mother said in an interview with the station.
The parents also reportedly said that Maldonado told the victim that there was “a shooter at her window” and that she would be killed if she screamed.
Officers immediately began canvassing the surrounding area for witnesses and additional evidence, eventually recovering surveillance footage, which they say showed Maldonado fleeing the area. Authorities searched for the suspect but were unable to locate him.
Police said they “worked tirelessly to identify and locate the suspect involved” in the alleged sexual assault and were able to identify him as Maldonado. Authorities found Maldonado on Thursday leaving a downtown Los Angeles hotel and boarding a bus headed to Bakersfield. Officers conducted a traffic stop on the bus on a freeway and took Maldonado into custody.
Culver police noted that they had been working “in close partnership” with the UCLA Santa Monica Rape Treatment Center as well as the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office in the investigation and will continue to do so as the case against Maldonado is filed in court.
“While we have no reports of additional crimes of this nature in the Culver City area, we are collaborating with other law enforcement agencies to identify any additional victims,” police wrote in the release. “We encourage anyone with information related to this case or other cases involving this suspect to immediately contact the Culver City Police Department.”
Maldonado is in jail in lieu of $1.25 million. He’s set to appear in court for his arraignment on Monday.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
