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Tag: alleged sexual assault

  • Man charged with sexual assault of two women in Angeles National Forest

    Man charged with sexual assault of two women in Angeles National Forest

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    Los Angeles County prosecutors charged a 40-year-old man with sexually assaulting two women in his van in a secluded part of the Angeles National Forest earlier this week.

    Eduardo Sarabia was charged Wednesday with one count of forcible rape and one count of forcible oral copulation, according to court records. Sarabia is accused of raping a woman after driving her to a concealed area of the forest on Sunday and then sexually assaulting a second woman in the same remote area on Monday, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón’s office announced in a news release. The incidents took place along Highway 39 between the hours of 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. authorities said.

    “The horrific and violent sexual assault that these two survivors endured by the alleged suspect is deeply troubling and incomprehensible. Our thoughts are with the victims during this tremendously difficult time,” Gascón said in a statement on Thursday.

    The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is asking for the public’s help to find any additional victims. Based on the circumstances surrounding the case, investigators believe there could be more unidentified victims. The Sheriff’s Department released images of Sarabia and his windowless white-paneled van.

    “I want to emphasize that this is an ongoing investigation, and there may be additional victims who have yet to come forward. I urge anyone who has been affected by similar incidents to contact law enforcement and seek available resources,” Gascón said.

    Sarabia was arraigned in a Pomona courtroom Wednesday and is due back in court June 27. Anyone with information about this case can contact the Sheriff’s Department, Special Victims Bureau at 877-710-5273 or by email at specialvictimsbureau@lasd.org.

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    Nathan Solis

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  • Kern County supervisor investigated for allegedly sexually assaulting his child

    Kern County supervisor investigated for allegedly sexually assaulting his child

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    Kern County Supervisor Zack Scrivner is being investigated for allegedly sexually assaulting one of his four children, according to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office.

    Sheriff Donny Youngblood said in a news conference Thursday that he received a call from Dist. Atty. Cynthia Zimmer — Scrivner’s aunt — Tuesday night, saying that Scrivner was armed and appeared to be having “some type of psychotic episode” at his home in Tehachapi. Zimmer then called Youngblood back to notify him that Scrivner was no longer armed.

    “We were responding to what we believed at the time was a suicidal person having a psychotic episode, not any crime,” Youngblood said.

    When deputies arrived on the scene, they secured the firearm. They found that Scrivner had a physical altercation with his children and was stabbed twice in the upper torso over allegations that he had sexually assaulted one of his children, Youngblood said. His injuries were non-life-threatening, he added.

    Scrivner’s four children, who are minors, and his parents were at the house at the time of the incident, Youngblood said. His wife, Christina, who filed for divorce in March, was not present.

    “Child was protecting other child from what he believed occurred,” Youngblood said in describing the incident.

    Detectives obtained a search warrant and seized 30 firearms, psychedelic mushrooms, electronic devices and possible evidence of sexual assault in the house, he said.

    Scrivner’s attorney, H.A. Sala of Bakersfield, told the TV news station KGET 17 that the allegations of sexual assault are not true and that Scrivner was going through a mental health crisis, distraught over his divorce. He said the altercation ensued after his child attempted to disarm him.

    “We have a reasonable basis to believe and conclude that that allegation is absolutely not reliable,” Sala said. “It’s not true. It did not occur.”

    Youngblood said an emergency protective order is barring Scrivner from any contact with his children. He declined to disclose their ages and whether the victim was one of Scrivner’s daughters or sons.

    Youngblood said the investigation will be a “lengthy process.”

    “It should be noted that this investigation is ongoing and not near completed,” he said. “We still have interviews to conduct, forensic evaluations to make.”

    Scrivner was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2010, serving as chairman in 2012, 2017 and 2022. Before serving on the board, he spent six years on the Bakersfield City Council.

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    Ashley Ahn

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  • L.A. County sheriff’s deputy arrested on suspicion of on-duty sexual assault of inmate

    L.A. County sheriff’s deputy arrested on suspicion of on-duty sexual assault of inmate

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    A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy was arrested this week on suspicion of sexually assaulting an inmate while on duty at the women’s jail in Lynwood, authorities said Wednesday.

    The investigation into 27-year-old Jonathan Tejada Paredes began Tuesday, when Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials learned of a sexual assault allegation involving a woman incarcerated at the Century Regional Detention Facility.

    Detectives opened an investigation and arrested Paredes a day later, the department said. The department did not offer additional details about what happened.

    Officials said he was booked at a sheriff’s station around 1 p.m. and his bail set at $100,000. It was not immediately clear whether he had retained an attorney.

    Late Wednesday, the union that represents deputies condemned the alleged actions while calling for a thorough investigation of the claims.

    “The allegations in this case, if true, are nothing shy of appalling,” said Richard Pippin, president of the Assn. of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs. “ALADS takes allegations of this nature very seriously, and we know the sheriff’s department does as well. We expect the department will conduct a thorough investigation into this matter and we’ll look forward to the outcome of that investigation.”

    Over the last five years, more than half a dozen women have accused Lynwood jailers of sexually assaulting them, allegations that led to at least two criminal convictions and one multimillion-dollar legal payout.

    In 2017, then-deputy Giancarlo Scotti was arrested after inmates told a teacher he’d attacked them. Scotti was initially charged with two counts of rape and two counts of oral copulation under color of authority.

    “It’s disgusting to all of us, to anyone who wears a badge,” former Sheriff Jim McDonnell said at the time.

    After Scotti’s arrest, more women came forward with similar claims. A 10-year veteran of the department, Scotti was charged with six felonies and two misdemeanors. He was sentenced to two years in prison, less than a third of the maximum possible sentence.

    “When he’s putting on his street clothes … I’ll be waking in a cold sweat,” one victim tearfully told a judge when Scotti was sentenced in 2019.

    Several of Scotti’s accusers filed lawsuits or legal claims, and the county agreed to pay $3.9 million in settlements. One woman, who was pregnant at the time, alleged that the jailer had ordered her to her knees and directed her to perform oral sex. Another said Scotti had sexually assaulted her in a jail shower one day before his arrest. She saved some of his semen on a piece of tissue paper, which she provided to investigators, according to her lawsuit.

    Then in 2020, Roy’ce Bass, a custody assistant, was arrested on suspicion of engaging in sexual activity with two detainees at the Lynwood lockup. He was charged with four counts of having sex with an adult confined in a detention facility. Two of the charges were linked to a July 2017 encounter in an inmate’s cell, and the other two were tied to a January 2018 incident.

    Bass eventually pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 180 days in jail and two years of probation, according to records from the district attorney’s office.

    Inmates cannot legally consent to sexual intercourse with deputies under state and federal law.

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    Keri Blakinger

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