Woman sexually assaulted in her home in Manhattan Beach
Manhattan Beach police are seeking the public’s help in identifying the suspect in a sexual assault and rape that occurred Sunday night in a home on the 900 block of Valley Drive.
According to MBPD reports, a woman had been dropped off by a friend at her home on Valley Drive at about 8:30 p.m. She’d just returned from attending a concert and was home alone. Shortly thereafter, a man entered the woman’s home and assaulted her, police said.
“A man entered her house through an unlocked front door and sexually assaulted and raped her,” said MBPD Sgt. Tim Zins. “The suspect was said to have left her residence out the front door and out of sight.”
The suspect is described as black, clean-cut, in his early 40’s, with an athletic build, 6’2” tall, medium complexion, possible thin mustache, wearing tan shorts, a dark T-shirt, and gray tennis shoes.
Detectives have contacted neighbors and nearby businesses in hopes of obtaining video surveillance that will help identify the man. Footage could also be used to identify if the suspect subsequently entered a vehicle, in which case MBPD’s license plate reader system, stationed at entry points throughout the city, may be able to help discover the man’s identity. Police also are asking anyone who may have seen the man to contact police.
“Even a vehicle description would help. If someone saw him enter a vehicle, the license plate readers could come in handy,” Zins said. “We know the timeframe he may have left the city. Her house is located only blocks from downtown Manhattan Beach, and it was still fairly early in the evening, so many people would still be out jogging or walking their dog — we are really hoping someone would have seen the suspect, maybe in front of a business so we can go and pull their video. So far we don’t have any leads.”
A neighbor, Miguel Kulczycki, told KTLA that the woman spoke to him after the incident. He said the man entered the home and asked her about her family, to which she said that someone would be home soon. “He said, ‘Well, there is nobody here,’” Kulczycki told the news station. “He says, ‘I’m a registered sex offender already, so don’t do anything bad, just follow everything here.’ He said she is really attractive and he just followed her and she has to do [what he says] because that is what he does…Because he was already booked, they already know who he is, he’s in the system — that’s what he said to her.”
“This is so traumatic for her,” Kulczycki said.
Police could not confirm that the man had told the victim he was a registered sex offender, but Zins said detectives had obtained DNA from the scene that could be instrumental in finding the man.
“If there’s a DNA match, we will quickly know who he is,” Zins said.
Zins said that the suspect’s behavior was consistent with that of someone who’d committed a similarly predatory assault.
“The crime is obviously far more disturbing because the way he went about doing this,” Zins said. “Any sexual assault in the heart of Manhattan Beach is disturbing, so we have stepped up our patrols. We are bringing on more officers between 2 p.m. and 11 p.m. just for extra patrol and higher visibility. Then we are also working on getting the word out, for everyone to check video surveillance systems so we can hopefully get an image of some type of this guy. And we are waiting on DNA evidence that was collected on the scene, waiting on the crime lab.”
Two other unsolved sexual assaults occurred in roughly the same area in the last 14 months, but the suspects in each case were very different from each other and the assault that occurred Sunday night. In March, a man exposed himself to three teenage girls in the Von’s Market on Valley and Manhattan Beach Boulevard and subsequently began sexually assaulting one of the girls near 3rd St. and Valley before one of her friends was able to pry him off and he fled — in a car reportedly bearing an Uber logo. In June 2017, a man attacked a woman on the 800 block of Ardmore Avenue — a block from Valley — but she was able to fend him off and he fled.
Zins said that sexual assaults are infrequent in Manhattan Beach but that women need to remain vigilant.
“Keep your doors locked and use alarm systems as well as surveillance systems,” Zins said. “For women out walking, just be aware of your surroundings. With all the stressors we have going on in our lives, it can be distracting, but look around when you are coming home and approaching your house — see if there are any strange cars sitting there, somebody you don’t think you recognize. Call the police and let us check it out. As we say, no call is too small. We check it out and sometimes it turns out to be a potential burglar and the call has just stopped a crime….Other times people called, it’s been a contractor waiting to do some work on a house. And that’s fine. Just let us know and we’ll check it out, and if it’s nothing we’ll send them on their way.”
MBPD has employed a “See Something, Say Something” campaign over the last year that has urged people to call when they see anything out of the ordinary. Zins said it has resulted in arrests and prevented several crimes from occurring.
“We do have a safe community,” Zins said. “This incident has disturbed many people, especially women, and we’ve gotten a few phone calls from women who were really upset. I tell them the same thing I tell people at Neighborhood Watch and town hall meetings — lock your house when you are away, or even at home. There is a line between paranoia and being safe. We just want people to use good common sense.”
Zins said women, in particular, should always keep a cell phone with them and noted some new phones can call 911 with one simple swipe.
“No matter what community we live in, no community is crime free,” Zins said. “We all need to be aware of our surroundings to help us not become victims.”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Detective Jennifer Leach at 310-802-5125 or call the Manhattan Beach Police Department Tip Line at (310) 802-5171.