Thompson was arrested by LAPD on Jan. 15. He remains in jail without bond.
A Los Angeles man accused of posing as a child services worker was charged with rape this week in the assault of a 15-year-old girl in the Crenshaw-Leimert Park area.
Fifty-seven-year-old Derrick Dwayne Thompson is charged with one felony count each of rape, sodomy by use of force of a victim 14 or older and sexual penetration by use of force involving a minor victim over 14, according to a statement released Wednesday by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Police were originally notified after reports of a man in a black Chevy Suburban masquerading as a child care business surfaced. According to police, he approached a teenage girl waiting at a bus stop on Nov. 30, 2024.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
The SUV had a sign on the door depicting a child care business, police said.
“Believing the suspect worked for child services, the victim entered the vehicle,'' police said in a statement last week. “The suspect drove to a parking lot, told the victim to get into the back seat, then removed the child care business sign from the vehicle door.''
Police said Thompson then got into the back seat with the 15-year-old girl, removed her clothing and began sexually assaulting her.
Thompson was arrested by LAPD on Jan. 15. He remains in jail without bond.
A preliminary hearing date is scheduled Friday this week. It was not immediately clear whether the defendant has an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
“We are concerned about the possibility of additional victims” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement announcing the charges, “and urge anyone with information to come forward and contact the LAPD Juvenile Division.''
