A Los Angeles man was in custody Friday on charges he raped a mentally disabled woman for 10 minutes on a public bus as it rolled through Los Angeles.
The 18-year-old victim, who has the mental capacity of a 10-year-old, got on the bus in Culver City at the same time as her alleged assailant, shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday, cops said.
The suspect followed her to the rear of the bus where she sat down.
“Without any warning or provocation, (he) stood and faced her while positioning himself between her legs and sexually assaulted her,” a statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
The assailant, who was caught on tape by the vehicle’s security system, continued his horrific attack while an unidentified witness, the only other passenger on the bus, attempted to get the bus driver’s attention, authorities said.
“After about 10 minutes, the suspect stopped his assault and exited the bus when it reached the last stop at the turnaround,” the Sheriff’s Department statement said. “It was then that the victim reported the rape to the bus driver.”
Surveillance images depict the alleged rapist as a young African-American male who wore a striped hoodie sweatshirt and dark pants.
The arrest came after a search warrant was served on the suspect’s home in south Los Angeles, authorities said ahead of a Friday afternoon press conference.
It wasn’t immediately clear what led investigators to the arrest address, but images of the assailant were made public Thursday evening and plastered across local media.